You're My ANJELL
by DJ.V
Summary: Jung Aimee is Hwang TaeKyung's best friend. She's also madly in love with ShinWoo, who wouldn't notice her feelings even if she hit him over the head with them. What will happen when the new member, Go MiNam, comes into their lives? TKxMN OCxSW OCxOC
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**-Okay, so I totally fell in love with the Korean drama _You're Beautiful_. The OST is BEAUTIFUL and I love everything about it. xD I was soo tempted to write a fanfic to it. So Idid. I'm supposed to be cowriting this with my friend, but she hasn't even finished the drama yet x] And so I'm just posting up what I have. I also made a trailer of this fanfic on my YT. The trailer sucks, but eh....xD I didn't have a lot of clips to work with of my OC. And yeah, the chapters are pretty long. They might get shorter (cause I get lazier) but yeah, just bear with me x] I loved it so much, I wrote seven to six pages per chapter. Hahaha. 33

"Yes, yes, I know!" I laughed, my purple Samsung Corby at my ear.

"Aimee this is no time to laugh! This is your _own _debut party! I can't believe you're late," Manager Kim scolded me.

"Yes, I know. I'm on my way," I smile despite being lectured. I pull my silver Mercedes Guardian to a stop at a red light. I quickly check my make-up quickly in my rear-view mirror, not being able to resist giving myself a quick wink.

"Aimee, just get over here," Manager Kim sighed at her carelessness.

"Alrighty, Manager Kim. Bye," I gave a quick kiss-kiss and hung up.

The light turned green. I stepped on the gas pedal, pulling my car up a bit further. I had barely made it halfway across the crossing when I heard a sudden honking noise. I looked to my left and saw nothing but a pair of bright white headlights coming at me.

* * *

Hwang TaeKyung burst through the doors of the hospital. He took long quick strides towards the emergency room doors. His band mates, Kang ShinWoo and Kang OnYu, better known as Jeremy, were right behind him. They'd been called from TaeKyung's best friend Jung Aimee's debut party and TaeKyung had rushed out as soon as the hospital had told him Aimee had been hospitalized.

TaeKyung headed for the E.R. doors, ready to slam himself in. His band mates caught up to him and held him back.

"Hyung, you can't go in!" Jeremy said.

"Calm yourself down first, TaeKyung," ShinWoo insisted.

TaeKyung pushed his band mates off of him, but stepped away from the E.R. doors. How could he calm down? His best friend could be _dying_. No one knew if she was okay. So how could he calm down? He stormed over to the reception desk, determined to find some answers.

"I need to know if one of the patients that were just brought in is okay," he told the nurse.

"Ah, yes. Patient's name?" the nurse simply asked, blowing up her bubblegum into a bubble. TaeKyung resisted the urge to reach over and smack the gum onto her face.

"Jung Aimee," he replied.

"I'm sorry, there's nothing yet. Did she just come in?" the nurse asked, tapping her orange-polished nails against her mouse.

"Yes," TaeKyung said through gritted teeth.

"Then I'm afraid you'll just have to wait for the doctor to come out and update you," the nurse said, shrugging. She flashed TaeKyung a smile, but he averted her gaze.

"Hyung, calm down," Jeremy said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We're all worried about Aimee."

"Yeah," TaeKyung muttered, though he knew no one worried as much as he did.

The doctor stepped out after what seemed like an eternity, but was really only an hour. TaeKyung bolted to his feet as soon as the doors opened. Jeremy and ShinWoo stood.

"How is she?" TaeKyung asked. The doctor sighed, pulling his glasses off and removing his mask.

"She's in very critical condition. Her spinal chord has many small but still serious fractures. She can't breathe. She can't move. She may never walk again. But she'll live," the doctor spoke slowly and cautiously.

"She'll live? That's it?" TaeKyung's anger flared. "Dancing is her life. Singing is her life. She can't breathe? She can't walk? What is she going to do? Just _live_? What kind of life is a life that can't be lived the way it should be!"

"TaeKyung," ShinWoo placed a firm hand on his shoulder. TaeKyung gritted his teeth so hard it hurt. He was going to scream. His eyes burned with tears, but he didn't cry.

"I'm very sorry, but there isn't much we can do. We've repaired her spinal column to our best ability, but it'll take a lot of therapy and surgery before she fully heals," the doctor gave them all a reassuring smile, but it did nothing for them.

As the doctor walked away, TaeKyung kicked the benches in the waiting room. He cursed over and over again, smashing the walls. Jeremy and ShinWoo simply watched as their leader kicked and screamed and cried for his best friend.

* * *

TaeKyung helped me stand from my wheelchair. I pushed on the armrests with my hands. The therapist and TaeKyung helped me to stand upright. Once I had balanced myself out, they both let go. I managed to stand on my own a moment, but as a shock of pain burst through my chest and legs, I collapsed. TaeKyung caught me before I hit he ground.

"Slowly now," he said, helping me back into my wheelchair.

"Get me out of here," I muttered, angry at my failed attempt to stand.

"Aimee…"

"_Now_."

TaeKyung met my glare with his own stubborn eyes, but I didn't care. I didn't want to be here. Not now. Not ever. TaeKyung reached over to me, trying to get me to stand again, but I grabbed his jacket sleeve and tugged on it hard to show I wanted to go home.

"Aimee, stop it," he scolded. "You're acting like a spoiled child."

"I don't care," I shot back. "Don't you see? _I can't do it_. It's hopeless."

"Nothing's hopeless," TaeKyung said, meeting my stubbornness with his own. "You just have to be strong, Aimee."

"It's okay," my therapist says softly. "Take her home."

TaeKyung gritted his teeth in frustration. It was a habit he had, I knew. He did it every time he was deep in thought or angry. And right now, he was angry at me for giving up so easily on my physical therapy.

"What's wrong with you today, Aimee?" TaeKyung asked as he drove me back to the dorms. I laid my head on the window, ignoring him. He glanced at me a couple times, but said nothing. As we came up to a red light, he sighed and I peeked at him from the corner of my eye.

"You have to be strong, Aimee. You'll walk again, I know you will. You just have to be strong," TaeKyung reassured me. This time, it was my turn to grit my teeth.

"I'm tired of being strong. No matter how strong I am, I still can't walk. It's hopeless. Useless," she mumbled.

"Don't say things like that," TaeKyung snapped.

"You don't know what it's like!" I snapped back at him. Tears burned at the back of my eyes, but I didn't cry. I never cried.

"I would if you just talked to me! You're not the only one who suffers from the accident!" TaeKyung shouted. I clamped my mouth shut. TaeKyung glanced at me, realizing I wasn't talking anymore. I did this every time I got too upset. I simply stopped talking. TaeKyung let out an exasperated sigh, but didn't urge me to talk anymore, knowing it was useless.

We didn't talk the rest of the drive to the dorm. When we got there, I sat silently as TaeKyung got out and readied my wheelchair for me. I hated the feeling of needing someone else to help me get around. It was the only reason I was living with them. I couldn't do things for myself. It was a huge blow to my pride, but I had to deal with it. I had no other choice.

TaeKyung wheeled me to the back and up the ramp onto the back porch. I wheeled myself to Angelina Jolie, Jeremy's dog.

"Hey, Jolie," I smiled, kissing the golden blonde strands of fur on her forehead. She licked my cheek happily. I looked around and saw Jeremy had already filled her bowl with food and water. I smiled to myself. Jeremy really did love this dog.

"Noona!" Jeremy ran out just as I had the thought. He ran to hug me, but TaeKyung stopped him. I couldn't help but smirk. Jeremy had grown up in England, where it was custom and normal to hug and kiss others as a greeting, but in Korea, his hyungs were always stopping him.

"Noona, how was the therapy?" Jeremy asked once TaeKyung had pulled him away from hugging me. I simply shook my head in response to Jeremy's question. Jeremy blinked at me a moment, before turning to TaeKyung.

"You guys had a fight?" he asked. TaeKyung simply shrugged, gritting his teeth.

"Come on in, everyone," ShinWoo suddenly said from the door. "It's a bit cold."

I wheeled myself towards the door a bit before Jeremy took the handles and pushed me the rest of the way. Taekyung followed behind us, a sour expression on his face. I glanced back at him, but he averted my gaze and I felt slightly bad for out fight.

Jeremy wheeled me to my room, which was on the first floor, since I couldn't exactly go up the stairs in my condition. He picked me up from my wheelchair and set me on my bed beside my desk.

I give him a thankful smile before turning and picking up my sketchbook and flipping the page to my newest sketch. I showed it to him. He grinned.

"That's me?" he asked, pointing to himself. I nodded, smiling. I had taken the time to draw a quick sketch of Jeremy smiling his cute, innocent grin. It wasn't yet finished, but it was completed enough for me to show him and not be embarrassed.

"You draw beautifully," Jeremy complimented, looking over the sketch. He smiled at me, and I laughed, seeing it was almost identical to my sketch. He noticed as well, and chuckled. Then, he flipped through the earlier sketches I'd drawn. Most were of the three boys of A.N. Jell, but a couple had been futile attempts at a self-portrait.

"You draw so many of ShinWoo hyung," Jeremy noted. I reddened slightly, but kept my cool as Jeremy looked up at me. I stuck my tongue out at him, taking my sketchbook back from him. He sticks his tongue out at me as well and we both laugh.

Suddenly, a knock sounds from the door. Jeremy and I turn and see ShinWoo poke his head in. I stick my sketchbook under my pillow behind me. Jeremy notices and opens his mouth to ask me about it, but I put a finger up to my lips to shush him.

"I made some tea," ShinWoo says, smiling at us.

"That's great, hyung," Jeremy smiles. "But I'm going to get me some juice."

"Okay," ShinWoo shrugs, placing the tray of tea on my desk. He offers me a cup as Jeremy gets up to get himself a cup of juice. I nod a quick 'thank-you' to ShinWoo.

"Not talking again? Did therapy really go so badly?" ShinWoo asks me. I shrug. He gives a light chuckle. I stare at him, taking in the way he laughed. It was a sound I liked. He notices me staring, and I avert my gaze quickly. He smiles softly, patting me on the head. I frown, feeling like a child, but ShinWoo simply smiles again, taking a sip of his tea. I sip at mine too. It tasted like ginseng.

"TaeKyung is moping in his room," ShinWoo suddenly said. I frowned, knowing it was my fault. ShinWoo turned and looked at me.

"I think he's upset because you are. Maybe you should go talk to him?" Shinwoo suggested. I pondered a moment. Then, I nodded.

"Yeah, I will," I said. ShinWoo broke out into a charming smile, and I melted.

"I'll go get him," ShinWoo said. I nodded, smiling back at him.

* * *

I sat up slowly in bed. Glancing at the neon-colored numbers of the clock on my bedside table, I saw it was two in the morning. My throat was parched. I threw off the blankets, deciding to go to the kitchen and get a glass of water. But as I looked at my legs, I saw nothing. My legs were nonexistent. I screamed at the top of my lungs.

I bolted upright in my sleep, gasping. Hot tears burned in my eyes, but I blinked them back. I lifted the blankets cautiously and almost screamed again as I saw my legs _were _there. I wanted to cry right there at that moment, but I bit my lip, holding back. I wasn't going to cry. There was no reason to cry.

But I was parched. That hadn't been a dream. I was unbearably thirsty. I attempted to get to my wheelchair, but as I moved towards it, I accidentally knocked it away. It scooted further away from my bed and I rolled off the bed, hitting the ground with a loud thud. I cursed myself quietly, wondering if I'd woken anyone. I couldn't move. I attempted to pull myself towards my wheelchair, but it was too far away. I sat on the ground, my arms outstretched toward the wheelchair. I bit my angry sobs of failure back, trying harder and harder to reach my only way of moving, but it was hopeless. I punched the hardwood floor with my fist in frustration, but that only hurt me more. I pulled back, biting in a scream. I touched my knuckles. They were bruised. I cursed myself again. I was completely hopeless and helpless. The hollowness I usually felt in my chest grew deeper.

Just then, the lights in my room flicked on. I blinked a few moments, the light blinding me. As my eyes adjusted, I saw a figure standing in my doorway. I knew it was one of the guys, but it was hard to see. I blinked a few more times and saw it was ShinWoo.

He walked over to me, smiling a soft, compassionate smile. He pulled my wheelchair back towards my bed where it was supposed to be and then he put his arm around me and lifted me back up onto the bed.

"You're so helpless," he said softly as he put me down and sat beside me on the bed. I looked away from him, not being able to help feeling embarrassed that he'd seen me in such a helpless state. But he simply smiled and turned my head to look back at him.

"Don't be embarrassed, Aimee," he said. I stared at him. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about, alright?"

I looked away again, feeling the urge to pull up my knees to my face and hide, but I knew I couldn't even do that.

"I curse the day I lost my legs," I mumble. "I hate the world for what it did to me. I hate everything. I hate everyone. No one understands what it's like to be me."

"No one?" ShinWoo asks, making an uncertain face. I look at him.

"No one."

"Well, maybe, if you talk about it," he purses his lips together a moment before smiling. "Maybe _I'll _know. And I might even understand."

"How could you?" I scoff. "At least you can walk."

"You could too, if you really wanted to," he said. I shoot him a mild glare, but he simply smirks. He takes my hand and stands, pulling me toward the edge of the bed.

"What are you doing?" I pull back slightly.

"You're going to walk," he replies, still smirking. I shake my head, but ShinWoo simply nods, giving me a reassuring smile. And I can't help it. I finally sigh, and agree. He walks over to me, putting his hands on my waist and supporting me as I try to stand. He turns me around to face him and I stumble slightly. He catches me and our eyes lock a moment before he pushes me back up into a standing position. Then, he steps away from me, slowly letting go of my waist. I reach for him, afraid of falling, but he smiles.

"Try it on your own a moment," he says, taking my hand a moment, before letting go again. I glare at him, but manage to keep my balance. I take a deep breath. ShinWoo watches me.

"Take a step," he says.

"I can't."

"Yes, you can," he insists.

I sighed. Then, I take a deep breath. Closing my eyes, I urge my legs to take a step. I manage to lift my leg just a little. I urge mind to move my legs, and they do. Just a little. But I didn't lift my foot high enough, and I stumbled as my toes scraped the floor. I trip and fall forward into ShinWoo. He catches me, his arms embracing me. I look up at him, my face red. But he only smiles, lifting me back up and setting me down in the bed.

"Congratulations, Aimee. You've taken your first step," he says. I stare at him a long moment. He stares back at me. My eyes wander to his lips, as his face is so close to mine. But I resist the urge to kiss him and look away. He smiles, patting me on the head.

"Is there anything you need?" he asks.

"I'm thirsty," I mutter, remembering that I'd woken up to get a drink. He nods and leaves a moment to bring me a glass and a pitcher of water. He sets them beside me on my desk.

"So you don't have to get up if you're thirsty," he says, motioning to the pitcher. He pours me a glass and watches as I drink it slowly.

"_Kamsamnida_, ShinWoo oppa," I say softly. He looks at me a moment, noticing I'd called him _oppa_. But he doesn't seem to mind. Instead, he smiles. Then, his eyes trail to my bare legs on top of the blankets. His smile fades a moment.

"Does it hurt sometimes?" he asks. I shift uncomfortably under his stare.

"Sometimes," I mutter. He looks at me, smiles again.

"Don't feel stupid when you're in a tight spot, Aimee. We all understand," he pats my hair again. I duck my head away from his hand.

"I don't feel stupid," I say. "Not necessarily."

He tilts his head slightly as I say this. "How do you feel then?"

I bite my lip, wondering if I should say it, and how it'd sound if I said it.

"I feel hollow, as if I'm nothing. I feel helpless, like you said just a moment ago," I mumble, looking away from him.

"I understand," he says and I look at him. I'd expected him to contradict me, saying I _wasn't _nothing. That would have made him just like the others. But he didn't say it. Instead, he said he understood. A new feeling erupted in my hollow heart. I stared at ShinWoo for what seems like hours until, finally, he smiles and walks out, turning off my lights.

I lay back down in my bed, pulling the sheets back over my immobile legs. But I don't sleep. No, I couldn't fall asleep for a long time. Instead, I stay awake, wondering about ShinWoo. I wasn't as strong as Jeremy and TaeKyung always made me out to be. ShinWoo was the only one who understood the hollowness and helplessness I felt.


	2. Chapter 2

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight," the young woman counted as she demonstrated the dance moves to the trainees. Go MiNam watched her, fascinated by her confidence and beauty.

"Wah, she's so pretty," Go MiNam mumbled to herself, feeling even more inferior than usual. It was bad enough she was pretending to be her brother, dressed as a mucky dirty boy, but being next to a pretty girl made her feel even worse.

"Yeah, she really is, huh?"

MiNam jumped as she realized ShinWoo had come to her side. He smirked.

"That's Jung Aimee. She's our dance choreographer," ShinWoo explained. "She's real close to the band. You'll probably meet her formally after practice."

"Oh, she's really close to the band?" MiNam asked. ShinWoo nodded.

"She's known Hwang TaeKyung since his childhood. They grew up together, and Jeremy looks to her like an older sister," ShinWoo said.

"Ah," Go MiNam nodded. "And what about you?"

ShinWoo paused a moment, looking at Go MiNam. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. Why was he looking at her like that?

But instead of answering his question, he simply grinned, ruffled her hair, and walked off. A few steps away, he turned around again.

"Pay attention to the dance. You don't want to be scolded by her," ShinWoo smiled. Go MiNam panicked slightly and nodded. She turned and watched the dance Aimee was demonstrating. She was so busy trying to memorize the movements that she hadn't even realized that everyone was looking at her.

"Go MiNam?" Aimee called. She stopped moving, and Go MiNam snapped back to reality.

"Uh, ah, yes?" Go MiNam stuttered. Aimee smirked at her.

"Come here, Go MiNam," she wiggled a finger at MiNam.

MiNam tensely made his way over to her. Aimee laid a hand on MiNam's shoulder.

"Were you paying attention?" Aimee asked.

"Uh, yes," MiNam nodded nervously. "But I'm new, and the dance is difficult for me to understand."

"I see," Aimee tapped her chin, studying Go MiNam from head to toe.

MiNam stood very still. She didn't know why, but she felt as if Aimee was a viper, ready to launch at her and sink her razor sharp fangs into Go MiNam's skin. MiNam shuddered at the thought. _No_, she told herself. _Aimee noona is a good person._

"Has everyone else got the dance?" Aimee asked the other trainees. MiNam tensed even more. Was Aimee trying to humiliate her?

"Yes, noona," they all said, staring at MiNam.

"Good," Aimee nodded. "Then everyone practice. I will spend a little time helping our newbie Go MiNam out."

She gave MiNam a friendly smile. MiNam let out a deep breath. Aimee was not going to humiliate her. She was only trying to help. And Aimee did help. She was very patient with Go MiNam, though she snapped at MiNam once or twice. And once MiNam was able to get the basic of the dance down, Aimee left her to herself and went to help out the other trainees. MiNam watched her. The way her body was able to move crisply to the timing of the music, the way she smiled and laughed with the other trainees…MiNam couldn't help but feel as if she, herself, were a complete failure.

Aimee glanced at her, and MiNam quickly averted her gaze. Her face reddened. Why was she watching Aimee like that? It was very rude to stare.

* * *

I turned, and saw Go MiNam staring at me. As he noticed me looking at him, he quickly turned away. I smirked. Then, I turned back to the other trainees.

"Like this," I said, demonstrating the dance move again.

"Ah, okay," the young man said, copying my movements. I give him a light slap on the back and grin.

"That's it," I say. He smiles at me, and repeats the dance move to his friends.

"Yah! Noona, let's take a quick break! We've been practicing a hour now!" Jeremy called from the other side of the studio. I roll my eyes, but chuckle.

"Alright!" I shout loudly to the others. Everyone whoots loudly and begin chattering with their friends. I skip over to Jeremy and ShinWoo, my long hair bouncing on the top of my head in a messy bun.

"Great day today," I smile at them.

"Yeah, noona!" Jeremy grins brightly. ShinWoo smiles, but looks over her shoulder. She turns and notices he's looking at Go MiNam, who was tripping over his own shoes trying to get the dance move right.

"_Yah_! Go MiNam!" I call over to him. He looks at us and falls on his face. Jeremy, ShinWoo, and I rush over to him.

"Are you alright?" I ask, helping him up.

"Uh, y-yes," he stutters, scrambling away from me. I tilt my head at him.

"No need to be nervous, I'm nice to all my trainees," I reassure him, standing up.

He stands quickly, knocking into ShinWoo. He puts a hand on MiNam's shoulder.

"Are you alright?" ShinWoo asks him gently. MiNam simply nods, stepping away from him. I look at ShinWoo, noticing he's staring pretty hard at MiNam. Then, glancing behind me, I see Jeremy scowl at MiNam. What the heck is going on here?

"I'm Jung Aimee, official choreographer of A. and future stars," I say, winking at Go MiNam. "You can call me noona like everyone else. And sorry to put you out there like that earlier."

"No, it's alright," Go MiNam bows. "I'm sorry to take away part of your time."

I simply smile at him. He was so timid for a boy.

"Aish, I'm sweaty," Jeremy suddenly says, tugging at his beater.

"Alright, alright," I chuckle. "Everyone off to the showers!"

All the guys scramble to go. I grab my bags and make my way to the women's shower room upstairs. After taking my quick shower, I dress in a pair of jeans, graphic T-shirt, and white high-tops. I brush my hair and blow it out to dry. Then, after applying a quick coat of lip gloss and eyeliner, I grab my bag of gear and walk out.

Just as I step out from the locker room, someone rams into me, knocking me over. I let out a cry of surprise as I fall back on my butt. Looking, I see Go MiNam scrambling up the stairs. I look to my right and see Hwang TaeKyung running after him. He jumps over my legs, taking off after Go MiNam.

"Get back here you punk!" TaeKyung shouts.

I sit on the ground, dazed. Then, quickly, I scramble to my feet and grab my bag, taking off after them. I chase them to the rooftop where I see TaeKyung huddling Go MiNam.

"Please! Don't do this!" MiNam shouts.

"Give it back! I'm going to rat you out!" TaeKyung shouts back. That's when I notice Go MiNam holding TaeKyung's cell phone in his hands. I shrink back against the wall, watching. TaeKyung snatches the phone from MiNam, but misses and manages to only get a hold of the teddy-bear keychain.

"Let go right now!" TaeKyung says, yanking on the keychain.

"Please!" MiNam cried.

"You think you won't be caught if this disappears?!" TaeKyung shouts. I stare at them.

_Caught?_

"You're a fool! Let it go!" TaeKyung shouts. I step towards them, deciding to stop this. Suddenly, TaeKyung shouts, "Even if it disappears, aren't you still a girl?!"

I freeze.

_Go MiNam is a _girl?

TaeKyung yanks hard on the phone. It slips from MiNam's fingers, and goes flying over the roof's edge. Both turn and look to see the phone land on the top of the truck beneath the roof.

The two scramble back downstairs. I take off after them, wondering what the hell was going on. As I get down to the street level, I see Taekyung standing alone, fidgeting with his phone.

"Where is MiNam?" I ask him. He looks up, startled. Then, he scoffs.

"On top of the truck," he says, looking back to his phone. I look around.

"What truck?"

TaeKyung turns around, seeing that he's standing completely alone. My eyes grow wide, realizing what had happened.

"You're an idiot," I mumble as I run past him, dropping my stuff. I run as fast as I can, finally catching sight of the truck. I see Go MiNam on top of it, screaming.

"Go MiNam!" I shout, running after the truck. He, or rather _she_, glances back, and I see her face is glistening with tears.

"Aimee-noona!" she cried.

"Hold on, Go MiNam! I'm gonna get you!" I yell to her.

"Aimee-noona!" she simply screams.

"Yah! Stop the truck!" I manage to get close enough to the truck to knock my fists on it loudly. "Stop the truck!"

The truck continues to go and I stumble slightly. I fall over, my knees scraping hard against the street cement.

"Damn it," I curse, trying to stand up again. Just as I get to my feet, a figure rushes past me.

"Go MiNam!" TaeKyung screams, running after the truck. I watch as his long legs carry him faster and faster, but he doesn't catch the truck.

"Hold on! I'll stop it!" he yells, but the truck speeds up and TaeKyung begins to fall back. I get to my feet and begin to run as well But just as I get to TaeKyung, I see the truck stop at a stoplight.

"Go MiNam!" TaeKyung yells to her.

"Get off now!" I finish.

"Hurry! Get off!" TaeKyung screams. We both dash for the truck. Go MiNam stands slowly, shaking. She turns toward us. TaeKyung speeds ahead of me.

I watch in horror as the stoplight turns green. Go MiNam freezes on top of the truck and slowly, it begins to take off.

"Jump now!" I scream to TaeKyung and MiNam.

"Jump!" TaeKyung says to her.

And so, Go MiNam leapt off the truck. I watch as she falls on top of TaeKyung. I run towards them, worrying if either is hurt, but my bruised knees slow me down. When I do reach them, MiNam has climbed off of TaeKyung, who is groaning and muttering to himself.

"Yah, oppa, since when do you run so fast?" I ask, panting. He ignores me and groans again. "Are you alright?"

"No of course I'm not alright!" he snaps, rolling over onto his stomach and slowly standing. He flinches, touching his back.

"Hwang TaeKyung-ssi," MiNam starts, but TaeKyung shuts her up with a glare.

Without another word, TaeKyung starts walking. Go MiNam starts after him, but I hold her back.

"Wait," I tell her, walking up to TaeKyung. I spin him around.

"What?!" he snaps. I glare at him.

"What the _hell_ is going on?" I ask.

"Did you hear everything?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Then you know what's going on already," he groans, turning and walking off again. MiNam runs up beside me. As TaeKyung walks away, I notice his sweater is torn and his back is bloody with scratches.

"Hwang TaeKyung!" MiNam calls after him. "I'm sorry! You got hurt because of me. Thank you for catching me."

She bows to him. He swings around, glaring at her. She flinches.

"You're right. I got hurt. I get dirty, smelly, wet, and sick because of you!" he snaps angrily at her. I stare at him.

"Oppa…" I start, but he shuts me up with a look.

"Are you sick? What should I do?" MiNam mutters quietly.

"Ha! What should you do? H-how in the world is this happening to me?" he mutters to himself. "I'm going crazy. Is this Candid Camera? Lee Kyung Koo!"

MiNam and I exchange looks. TaeKyung continues to call out.

"Lee Kyung Koo! Lee Kyung Koo!" he says. Then, noticing our stares, he scoffs at himself. "I'm really going crazy. Huh! Candid Camera! Geez…"

"Oppa, calm down."

"I can't calm down in this situation! I'm going crazy! I'm not like this!" he shouts. He points a finger at MiNam. "People call people like _you_ a nuisance!"

I look at MiNam. The hurt expression on her face is almost heartbreaking.

"I'm sorry for troubling you," MiNam bows. "Please do whatever you'd like with me. I'll do anything."

"What should I do with you?" TaeKyung scoffs. "Being near you is unlucky. You're a walking accident zone!"

"That's enough, TaeKyung," I say lightly, but he ignores me.

"I'm not going to mind you anymore. All your accident, this whole business, has nothing to do with me," he muttered to MiNam. "So deal with it, and disappear."

He walked away, leaving MiNam and I standing. She starts to take off after him, but I take her arm.

"Leave him be. We need to get back," I tug on her arm. She purses her lips, and looks up at me.

"You…heard everything?" she asks slowly.

"I heard enough," I mutter, shrugging.

"Let's go. I need to talk to my manager," she mutters, and we both walk back to the dance studio together.

After a very long meeting with Manager Ma and Coordinator Wang, who I found were the two behind the MiNam scheme, they finally let me out. I went back to A.'s dorm with them in their van.

"Yah! Go MiNam, did you do something wrong to TaeKyung hyung again?" Jeremy suddenly shouts from beside me. He latches onto MiNam's chair, shoving his face into hers.

"Yes," she muttered. "I'm a nuisance."

"You did something wrong to him again didn't you?!" Jeremy shouted.

"Dongsaeng, I have a headache," I muttered, pushing him back from MiNam with my knee. He only sat up and latched onto her chair again as soon as I put my knee down.

"Yes," MiNam answered quietly. "I'm a walking accident-zone which causes fender-benders."

"What?"

I push Jeremy back again, but this time, to keep him seated, I stretch my legs out across his lap.

"Sit, Jeremy."

"But noona-!"

"Shush," I say loudly, closing my eyes and leaning my head against the window.

"Please drop us off at Aimee's condo," ShinWoo tells the driver. I open one eye.

"No, I'll be staying with you guys," I say quickly before shutting my eyes again.

'Why?"

I open my eyes. Jeremy and ShinWoo are looking at me. I give them a fake pout.

"I just miss you guys. That's all," I say, winking. Jeremy grins.

"This will be great! I miss having noona around to cook meals!" he exclaims.

I smile, shutting my eyes again. I remembered. After I'd fully healed and was able to walk again, no one could keep me still. I walked, I ran, I jumped. I lived with the boys for half a year more after I'd recovered. I cooked, cleaned, and kept things running around the house. Since I'd left, they'd all managed in their one and a half years without me, but it was 'not the same', as Jeremy said.


	3. Chapter 3

I resettled in my room on the first floor. Most of my old stuff was still here. Even my wheelchair was still there, folded up and stuffed in the back of the closet. Of course, I didn't have any clothes. I'd taken those when I moved out, but I managed to borrow a shrunken beater from Jeremy and I'd brought an extra pair of shorts with me from my gym bag. I threw my ripped, dirty clothes in the wash. They were gross and sticky after I'd run after MiNam and the truck.

I went to the kitchen. Jeremy was drinking a glass of juice. I grabbed a glass and he poured me one as well. I drank, looking around.

"Where's MiNam and ShinWoo?" I asked. Jeremy blinked. Then, he shrugged.

"I've no idea."

I sighed, thinking about ShinWoo. It'd been two years since that first night he came to comfort me in my room after I'd fallen out of bed. Ever since that night, I'd grown to like him a lot. But I didn't think he noticed. Jeremy noticed my silence and poked me in the arm.

"Yah, are you alright?" he asked.

"Mhm," I quickly said, gulping down some more juice. "I was just thinking."

"About what?" he asked, leaning back against the kitchen island beside me. I glanced at him. He had picked up an apple now and was eating it straight through the skin. I pondered telling him about ShinWoo. Nobody knew about my feelings. Not even TaeKying, though I suspected he already guessed.

"Dongsaeng, you're a guy," I said. He nodded. "Why is it so hard for a guy to realize it when a girl likes her?"

Jeremy ponders the thought a moment. Then, he shrugged.

"Why is it so hard for a girl to realize it when a guy likes her?" he asked. "It goes both ways, noona. Just depends on who it is. Why? You like someone?"

I take a sip of juice, ignoring Jeremy's question. He was right. It goes both ways. Jeremy stares at me, waiting for an answer. Instead, I nudge him in the shoulder.

"Let's go to the roof. The view, is it still nice?" I asked. He grinned.

"You bet!" he said. Suddenly, his grin faded. "Oh, wait. I have to get something. I'll be there in a moment."

"Alright, I'm heading out without you," I smile, taking off up the stairs.

As I get to the roof, I breathe in the fresh night air. I look up at the stars. They weren't clear, but still visible with the balcony lights off. I walked to the edge of the balcony, closing my eyes. When I opened them, my eyes trailed down to the back porch. That's when I saw them. Go MiNam and ShinWoo sat on the porch together. He held her hand and spoke to her in hushed whispers. I saw him smile at her, and something in my chest ached. I looked at MiNam's expression. She was smiling, too. ShinWoo reached over and patted her on the head the way he used to pat my head. I backed away from the porch, dropping my glass of juice. It spilled over the balcony, but I didn't care.

I went back to my room downstairs, locking the door behind me. I was suddenly chilly, wearing nothing but a beater and shorts. I tousle my hair, feeling irritated. Seeing MiNam like that with ShinWoo was angering and disturbing. I didn't know why. I was simply jumping to conclusions. ShinWoo couldn't possibly know that MiNam was a girl, could he? I shook her head, groaning.

"But what if he does know?" I asked myself. Frustrated, I let out a loud groan and fell back into the bed. A knock came from my door.

"Aimee? Are you alright? Sounds like you just fell," ShinWoo called from the other side of the door. I wondered if I should let him in.

I opened the door. ShinWoo smiled.

"Aren't you cold?" he asked, looking at me in my shorts and beater.

"Yes, I'm freezing my butt off," I couldn't help but smirk at myself. He didn't smile back. Instead, he noticed my bruised shins and scratched knees. He frowned. My face reddens, having forgotten about my small injuries. They didn't bother me.

"It's nothing," I say quickly. He looks at me. Then, slowly, he smirks a little.

"If there's been an injury, you have to take care of it properly," he says. "Just wait a moment. I'll be right back."

He came back with a small first-aid kit. Sitting me on the bed, he propped my legs onto his lap. I blushed.

"Yah, oppa. It doesn't hurt," I start to pull my legs away, but he puts them back.

"Your scratches will still get infected," he smiled softly at me. I clamp my mouth shut, knowing he had made his point. I watch as he tenderly cleans my scratches, rubs ointment onto my bruises and then carefully bandages the scratches.

"You didn't bring any other clothes?" he asked after a long moment of silence.

"I did, but they're from dance practice."

He looked up at me and smiled.

"I remembered the first time I came in to comfort you that night you fell out of bed trying to get a glass of water," he said. I smiled.

"Yeah," I nodded. "The room is a bit empty now, but it still feels just like it used to. It feels like home."

ShinWoo looked at me a long moment. "You remember I used to tell you my secrets every time you were angry or sad with yourself?"

I nodded, "Of course. I told you my secrets too. How could I forget?"

He simply smiled. Then, he patted me on the head and the memory of him patting MiNam on the head the same way stirred something in me. I frowned, but ShinWoo didn't seem to notice.

"Good night," he said before turning and leaving the room. I sighed, closing the door behind him.

"Yeah, you too," I muttered, even though he couldn't hear me.

* * *

"Aimee noona?" Go MiNam poked her head in into my room. "Are you sleeping already? It's still early."

"I'm not sleeping," I reply, sticking my sketchbook under my pillow quickly, but she saw. MiNam walked over, pulling up my pillow.

"What's this?"

"Nothing," I mutter, but I don't stop her from looking at it.

"This is ShinWoo hyung," MiNam smiled. This time, I snatch the sketchbook away. Wait a minute. _Hyung?_

"Hyung…?" I ask slowly, looking at her. She blushes.

"Yeah. He was bandaging my hand earlier and he told me to call him 'hyung'," MiNam showed me her scratched hand. It had been perfectly bandaged with a bit of gauze and medical tape. I purse my lips together. MiNam notices the change in the mood, and frowns.

"Is something wrong?" she asks slowly. I quickly shake my head no, but her eyes trail to my bandaged knees. She stays silent a moment. She looks at my sketchbook, which was open to a page of the sketch I'd just made of ShinWoo.

"You…" she started, but I turned away. Had I been found out already? I'd only known this girl for one day, and she knew. I'd known TaeKyung, ShinWoo, and Jeremy for years, and even _they _didn't know. Was it because MiNam was a girl that she found out so easily?

"Noona," she sat on the bed beside me. I look at her, forcing a grin. I shrug.

"How well do you know them? The band, that is," MiNam asks slowly. I let out a breath.

"I grew up in TaeKyung's neighborhood. Our dads were friends, so me and him were easily friends. We got picked on a lot in school but we always looked out for each other. When we got older, we decided we wanted to become famous," I smiled at the thought. MiNam smiled as well.

"And so that's how you became a dancer and Hwang TaeKyung became a singer?" she asked. I frowned a little, remembering my singing days, but immediately, I pushed away the bad memory of the accident. Instead, I turned and smiled at MiNam.

"Yeah, something like that," I said. She stared at me a little strangely, but didn't ask any questions.

"When we were all still trainees, I got to know ShinWoo and Jeremy, since they were going to be band mates with TaeKyung. We all got along really well," I said, staring off into space. _We all got along really well._

"What's the relationship between you and ShinWoo hyung?" MiNam asked me. I shrugged. How could I answer her question without mentioning the accident and my feelings? A tear burned behind my eyes as I thought about the accident, but I held it back.

"He comforted me during a very hard time in my life," I simply said. "We got 'close'."

"'_Close_'?" MiNam asked slowly. Then, she smiled brightly. "Ah, that's right! _Close._ ShinWoo hyung said something about that."

I blinked at her. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, uh, nothing. _Mianhae_, Noona," she quickly smiled. Then, she yawned. I could tell it was fake.

"Ooh, it's late. I'm tired. Good night, noona."

"Yeah, sure," I simply replied, staring at her as she scurried out of my room as if I were a viper, ready to strike her. And for a moment, I almost considered it. What had she meant by 'ShinWoo hyung said something about that'. Had ShinWoo gotten _close _to Go MiNam as well? The thought made me shiver. If it was true, then either ShinWoo knew MiNam was a girl, or he was gay. I shivered again, and stuck my tongue out, trying to get rid of the nasty tastes in my mouth as I thought of it.

* * *

Four hours later, I still couldn't sleep. I sat up in my bed, sighing.

"Damn me," I muttered. I kicked off the sheets and walked out my room into the hall. The house was dark. Everyone was probably sleeping. I raked my hair back with my fingers. I couldn't sleep, so I might as well go out. Looking down at myself, I realized I had nothing to change into. Slowly, I made my way to MiNam's room. I opened the door and find it completely dark. I open the door and flick on the light-switch, hoping that MiNam was a deep sleeper.

I took a step, looking around. Suddenly, my foot hit something hard and I fell. I scrambled back onto my feet and look behind me. I saw that MiNam was sleeping right by the door and that I had tripped over her.

"Whatever," I sighed, getting up and walking over to MiNam's drawers. She must have _something _I could wear. At least a pair of sweatpants would be fine.

"Noona?"

I jumped. Turning, I saw MiNam blinking sleepily at me.

"MiNam," I let out a breath. "You scared me."

"What are you doing?" she asked, yawning.

"I need to borrow some pants," I told her. She rubbed her eyes.

"What for? Are you going out?" she asked. I nodded.

"I can't sleep. And I can't go out in shorts. I'll freeze," I explained. "I'd borrow from Jeremy, but his are too big for me."

"Bottom drawer," MiNam muttered, yawning again. I opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a gray sweatpants. Holding it up, I decided it was a bit small for my wide hips, but I could squeeze in without stretching it too much.

"Thanks," I smiled at her. MiNam nodded, crawling over to her bed. I left, turning off the light so she could sleep.

After I had changed, I pulled on my coat and shoes. I grabbed the keys to Jeremy's motorcycle and turned off the light. Just as I opened the door to leave, however, MiNam appeared before me. I muffled a surprised scream.

"What are you doing?!" I almost shout at her. She grins.

"I can't sleep either, so let's go together," she says. I stare at her. Can't sleep? She was sleeping like a rock just a second ago. Still, I don't say anything. Instead, I simply shrug and walk to Jeremy's motorcycle. I climb on and hand her a helmet.

"We're taking Jeremy's motorcycle without asking him?" she asked, looking at me. I shrug, smirking. Then, I strap on my own helmet, and we take off towards the town central.

I pour myself another shot of vodka. I take it back, throwing the bitter liquid down my throat. Go MiNam stares at me.

"Noona, isn't that going to make it harder for you to sleep?" she asked me.

"_Aish_," I curse, putting the shot glass down. I take a deep breath, and look at her. Instead of answering her question, I wave a shot glass in her face.

"Want one?" I ask. She quickly shakes her head no. I shrug, pouring myself another one. MiNam glances at me worriedly.

"Noona, that's past your fifth shot already," she mutters, staring at my shot glass as I take it back in a quick swing. I stick out my tongue at the bitter flavor, but pour myself another one anyways. But before I can drink it, MiNam takes the glass from me. I blink, trying to get my drunk mind to register where my glass went. Then, I look at MiNam.

"Noona, I think you should stop now," MiNam says. I try to snatch it back from her, but being slightly drunk, I miss. I snatch again and miss.

"Go MiNam-"

I trip as I stand to reach her. MiNam jumps, dropping the shot glass. It spills over the floor. I stare at the puddle of vodka a long moment. Then, I look up at MiNam, who is also staring at the puddle.

"Your fault," I giggle, rolling off the table and sitting on the ground. MiNam still looks worried. She opens her mouth to speak, but shuts it. I stare at her. She looks away. And again, I think about the way ShinWoo patted her head and held her hand. Tears blur my eyes, but I don't cry.

"I can't believe he's so thick," I mutter, meaning ShinWoo. "No one is more blind than him. How can he not see?"

"N-noona, what are you talking about?" MiNam stutters. I let out a loud groan of frustration, the alcohol making me dizzy. I let myself fall onto my back. I stare up at the ceiling.

"N-noona!"

* * *

Go MiNam stares in horror as she sees Aimee fall onto her back and pass out in the middle of the bar floor. She glances around. The bar is half-empty and everyone else seems to busy with their own business to notice Aimee laying drunk and passed out on the ground. So MiNam scrambles to her feet, picking Aimee up and throwing Aimee's arm around her shoulder. Then, MiNam drags Aimee to the door and out to Jeremy's bike. She _had _to get Aimee back home.

"I don't know how to ride a motorcycle," MiNam realizes. She couldn't drive them home. MiNam panicked a moment. Then, realizing she had her phone, she pulled it out of her jacket pocket. She stared at her contacts list. Who should she call? Manager Ma? No, he was probably sleeping and he'd scold her for going out with Aimee so late at night. Jeremy? No, he'd be angry about the bike, and he didn't like MiNam anyways. TaeKyung? No, definitely not. Then, sighing, she dialed ShinWoo's number.

"Hello?" he mumbled sleepily.

"ShinWoo hyung?" she said, the word still feeling strange in her mouth.

"Mm," he mumbled.

"I need you to come get me," MiNam said, her voice meek.

"What?"

"I'm with Aimee at this bar. She's out drunk and I don't know what to do. We took Jeremy's bike here. I can't drive that," she explained. He sighed.

"Where are you?"

"The Little Star. It's a bar on-"

"I know where it is," he interrupted. "I'll be there in a moment."

* * *

ShinWoo walked to the bar. He shook his head, thinking about how Aimee was drunk. She did it often. Why did it have to be with MiNam? MiNam was probably scared out of her pants, which she did seem when ShinWoo got to the Little Star.

"Thank you so much, ShinWoo hyung," she sighed when she saw him. "I'm sorry to bother you at this hour."

He nodded. "It's not your fault. If anyone, it's Aimee's."

"Don't say that," MiNam bowed her head. "I came with Aimee willingly."

"Yes, but she knows better than to go drinking at this hour," ShinWoo pursed his lips together. He looked at Aimee. Yeah. She was out cold. He took Aimee from MiNam. MiNam looked around.

"You didn't drive?" she asked, confused.

"No," he said. "We have to take Jeremy's bike back. We can't leave it here."

"O-oh, I see," she stuttered. He smiled at her. Then, he picked Aimee up, supporting her under her arms and legs. Her head hung back loosely, and ShinWoo had to shake his head at her carelessness.

"Bring the bike," he told her. MiNam nodded and pulled the motorcycle off its kick-stand and wheeled it alongside him as they walked home.

The trip was long and slow, thanks to the fact that Aimee woke up occasionally to throw up and then passed out again.

"It seems Aimee's not very good at drinking," MiNam stated once as Aimee jumped down from ShinWoo's arms to puke in the gutter. ShinWoo looked at MiNam.

"She's no good at it, but she insists on drinking anyways," he said. MiNam grinned slightly. It made him smile too. Aimee heaved, coughing. ShinWoo knelt down beside her, patting her on the back. She wiped her mouth, coughing a little more. Then, she groaned and fell over again. ShinWoo caught her by the shoulders before she hit the pavement. He picked her up again, carrying her home as MiNam led the bike beside them.

* * *

When they got home, ShinWoo instructed MiNam to put the bike back. He took Aimee up to her room. He laid her in the bed, peeling off her shoes and jacket. Then, he went to the bathroom and wet a washcloth with warm water. He sat Aimee up, cleaning her face off with the washcloth. She stirred slightly as he did so, and once even reached up to whack his hand away, but he simply moved her hand aside and continued to wipe off her face.

Then, he got a glass of water. He popped a small pill for alcohol in and it broke apart almost immediately. He stirred it lightly with a spoon and sat Aimee up again. He opened her mouth slightly and poured the seltzy-water into her mouth. He stopped every once in a while to allow her to swallow, but he made sure she drank the entire glass.

"_Babo_," he muttered softly as he laid her back down on the bed. But as he got up to go wash the cloth and put the glass away, he found that she was clinging tightly to his hooded sweatshirt. Without warning, she pulled him closer. He stumbled slightly, but caught himself just as he was about to fall onto her. He stared at her. Her face was so close to his. Then, ShinWoo noticed that in the corner of her eye, a small tear hung. He touched her cheek lightly with his fingertips, and a small tear rolled down to meet his fingers. This surprised him. He'd never seen Aimee cry. Was she crying now? In her sleep?

But another tear didn't come. He touched her cheek again. This time, another tear fell. Aimee stirred, and he pulled his hand away. What was he doing? He tried to stand up, but he realized that Aimee was still tightly clinging to him. Gently, he peeled her fingers from his sweater and pulled the blanket over her.

ShinWoo got up and walked to the doorway, turning off the lights. Those tears while she slept…what had they been for? He shook his head and decided he wouldn't talk, or think, about them.


	4. Chapter 4

I woke up the next morning with a major hangover.

"Did I drink last night?" I muttered to myself.

"You sure did."

I turned, and saw ShinWoo standing behind me beside my bed. He handed me a cup of tea. I took it from him, bowing a quick thanks. I took a sip. He watched me. I shifted under his gaze.

"What happened yesterday?" I asked, scratching my head and squinting up at him.

"Go MiNam said you woke up in the middle of the night and took her drinking with you," he explained briefly. I nodded slowly.

"I sort of remember that," I muttered. He sat down beside me.

"MiNam called me in the middle of the night. I had to come get you. We walked all the way home," he grinned.

"_Mianhae_," I said, though I grinned as well. I sipped my tea.

"MiNam also said you were talking and muttering about someone being 'thick' and 'blind'. Who were you talking about?" he asked. I blinked, and then remembered.

I'd been talking about ShinWoo. I looked at him. He smiled. I quickly looked away, my face red. Could he tell?

"It's nothing," I said a little too quickly. To avoid answering more questions, I took quick gulps of hot tea. It burned my throat, but I drank it anyways.

"Fair enough," he said, standing. "Are you done with that?"

He pointed at my cup of tea. It was empty. I handed him the orange porcelain and nodded. Pursing my lips together, I peeked up at him.

"Thank you, oppa," I said. He simply nodded.

"Does your head still hurt?"

"Just a little," I mumbled, though my head was throbbing. My throat was also parched, and the hot tea hadn't helped any. ShinWoo seemed to know, and handed me a large bottle of water.

"You threw up quite a lot last night. You're probably dehydrated," he smiled, dropping the bottle in my lap. He went towards the door. "Keep drinking water."

I watched as he left. Horrified, I wondered if I had accidentally puked on him. I scrambled out of bed and made way to my bathroom. I looked in the mirror and saw I looked a total mess, but still not as bad as I'd thought. I looked down and saw there was a pack of chasers on the counter along with more water bottles and a small washcloth. I stared at them a long moment. Had ShinWoo been taking care of me all night long while I was drunk? I bit my lower lip, and shook my head. I didn't dare hope.

* * *

After brushing my teeth for about four minutes and taking a long hot shower, I finally went downstairs for breakfast. My stomach was still slightly queasy, and my head still hurt, but by now, it seemed most the throbbing had gone away.

"Morning, noona!" MiNam greeted, handing me a plate of scrambled eggs and rice. I yawned.

"How late is it?" I asked, taking a bite from my plate.

"Eleven," Jeremy answered. I nearly dropped my plate.

"Oh my god," I set the plate down on the table quickly before rushing back to my room. Everybody watched, confused as I ran around the house gathering my things. TaeKyung rolled his eyes, sipping from his water-bottle. Jeremy simply watched, chewing his food. ShinWoo lightly chuckled to himself. MiNam simply stared.

"I'm going to be late!" I repeated over and over again. I ran into my room. I was just pulling off Jeremy's beater when I remembered I didn't have any clothes to change into. I cursed and pulled the beater back on. I grabbed my shoes and jacket and ran back into the kitchen.

"I need to borrow someone's car," I said, staring at all of them. "Like, now."

"Where are you going, noona?" Jeremy asked, handing me the keys to his motorcycle.

"I have a date," I said, taking the keys from him and grabbing my bag. I fumbled around to see if I had _anything _to change into. When I looked up, everyone was staring at me.

"You…have a date?" TaeKyung asked slowly. I looked at him. Then, I realized why everyone was staring at me.

"No, not like that!" I turned red. "Nothing like that."

"Sure, noona," Jeremy grinned. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"We're all old friends, Aimee," ShinWoo smiled as well. I kicked myself in the gut for not wording my statement better.

"I'm not going on a date, you guys," I sighed. "I have an appointment. I'm meeting this agent. He wants me to choreograph this new dance for his band."

"Sure, noona," Jeremy repeated, licking his spoon.

"You're going to a business meeting in sweats and a beater?" TaeKyung scoffed. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"I was going to go home to change first," I said. ShinWoo shook his head.

"No, I think I have something you could borrow," he said. Everyone stared at him.

"You do?" I asked, skeptical. He seemed to turn a bit red.

"Yeah. I bought it not long ago," he said. "It should fit you."

He motioned for me to follow him. I glanced at Jeremy and TaeKyung, but TaeKyung looked away, shaking his head. Jeremy simply shrugged.

ShinWoo pulled out a bag from his closet. I sat on his bed. He carefully took out the clothes from the bad, laying them out on the bed.

"I know they're not your style, but it's better than going looking like you do," he smiled softly. I looked over the elegantly soft pink halter top with flower pin and white pencil skirt. He'd even bought a strand of pearls to go with the outfit. I looked at him.

"And why do you have girl's clothes in your closet?" I asked slowly. He reddened again. I couldn't help but grin.

"They were going to be a gift," he finally answered. I blinked.

"Then how are you going to ask me to wear them?" I asked. He shrugged.

"The girl I was going to give it to…stood me up," he said. I stared at him. He smiled, but I saw right pass it. I sighed, picking up the clothes and folding them back up. He watched silently as I put them back in the bag. I handed them back to him.

"It's okay, oppa," I said, giving him a soft smile He didn't take the bag.

"It's nothing. You can keep them. I'll just end up throwing it away anyways," he shrugged, handing the bag back to me. I frowned. He wasn't going to let me get away with it this time. Finally, I sighed, taking the bag.

"Fine," I finally muttered.

ShinWoo stepped out, letting me change in his room. It was uncomfortable, wearing the clothes that would belong to another girl. One that he obviously liked. They fit me almost perfectly, if it wasn't for the snugness around the hips. A knock came from the door. I opened it.

"Here," ShinWoo handed me a box.

"I'm not accepting anymore of these 'gifts'," I pouted at him. He smiled slightly.

"You don't have shoes to match the outfit," he noted. I frowned. He was right. I took the box from him, sighing. This was definitely awkward.

I slipped on the shoes and looked in the mirror in his bathroom to fix my hair. My hair was naturally wavy, and sort of fanned out as if it were already styled. But today, it was slightly messy. I ran my fingers through it to get out the tangles. I didn't have any make-up, but I didn't care much either, so I simply decided to leave without it.

As I stepped into the kitchen, I could tell everyone was staring at me.

"Ah, _yeppeo_," MiNam sighed dreamily. ShinWoo glanced at her. I bit my lip.

"You look like a completely different woman," TaeKyung scoffed, smirking. I stuck out my tongue at him. He scoffed at me. "But she's still the same old Aimee underneath it all."

Jeremy gawked at me. I frowned, tugging at my skirt.

"Don't stare," I pouted. MiNam smiled and Jeremy blinked way.

"The look suits you," ShinWoo complimented. I shake my head.

"No, it doesn't," I said, though I was secretly flattered. He smiled anyways.

"I'll drive you there," TaeKyung said. "You're not riding Jeremy's motorcycle in that."

I opened my mouth to refuse, but realized that riding a motorcycle in a pencil skirt didn't exactly work out very well. Instead of arguing, I grabbed my coat and bag. TaeKyung looked at me.

"Leave the bag," he said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Just leave it."

I frowned. He ignored me. I sighed, dropping my bag back down. I turned and waved to the others as I left.

I sipped at my ice water. It was strange, sitting across from old man all alone in this small private restaurant booth. He stared at me.

"You…don't look like a choreographer," the old man, Mr. Kuang, said.

I blushed. "Well, yes, I had to borrow some clothes from my friend."

"Are you single?"

"What?" I stared at the old man. He grinned. I shifted uncomfortably.

"Um, is your client here?" I asked. Mr. Kuang cleared his throat, suddenly serious again.

"Of course," he answered.

"Yah! Manager Kuang!"

The door to the booth opened. In came a handsome young man with spiked brown hair and a crisp-looking black suit with chains. It was a strange combination.

"Do I really have to be-"

He froze as he saw me. I blinked at him. He was definitely good-looking. His high cheek-bones, dark eyes, and deep-set brows made him look intimidating, but in a charming way. Realizing I was staring, I averted my gaze from him. I sipped my ice water again. He sat down beside his manager without another word.

"Ah, Nobu, you're here," Mr. Kuang smiled at him. Nobu ignored him.

"I'm Komatsu Nobu," he said to me instead. He stuck his hand out across the table. I stared at it a moment. Then, I reached over and shook it. He smirked. I pulled away, suddenly disgusted by his attitude. Did he think he was so slick and cool?

"Jung Aimee," I said, clearing my throat. I didn't look at him. No, I wouldn't give him that satisfaction. Still, he smirked. "You're Japanese?"

"I'm half-Japanese on my father's side, but I only speak Korean," he smiled.

"So you want me to choreograph a dance for Mr. Komatsu?" I asked, turning my attention back to Mr. Kuang.

"Ah, yes!" he exclaimed. "You see I was-"

"You're my choreographer?" Nobu scoffed. "You look more like a delicate actress rather than the spunky dancer I've heard of."

I ignored him. Let him think what he wants. I was anything but 'delicate.'

"Nobu, don't be rude," his manager scolded him. Mr. Kuang turned to me. "I'm very sorry for his behavior. He tends to be a bit arrogant."

I smirked. "No problem. I can handle him."

"Are you sure about that?" Nobu leaned over the table, a smirk playing his lips. I looked at him, in the eye. I'll show him _delicate_.

"Without. A. Doubt," I spoke each word as its own sentence. Nobu stared at me. Satisfied with myself, I stood.

"I'll accept the job. You can come to my studio starting today if you'd like. Practice starts at four," I said to Nobu. I turned to Mr. Kuang. "You have my number."

"Why don't we work at my studio?" Nobu suggested, his arrogance seeming to calm down for the moment.

"I only work at my own studio," I stuck my chin out at him. Then, I smirked. "Don't worry. You'll get all the attention you need."

He scoffed, but said nothing more as I left. As I walked out, I felt proud of myself. That'll show that asshole just how _delicate_ I am.

"Like this," I said, showing Jeremy the move again. Jeremy watched me and then nodded. I watched as he mimicked the dance move for me. Then, I nodded.

"Good."

* * *

I went around, helping out the trainees. They were all doing good today. Everyone seemed on track. I glanced at my watch. It was almost five. Nobu was late. I rolled my eyes. Of course. The jackass probably wanted to get back at me for standing up to him earlier. I continued practice without him.

"Is this really Aimee's dance class? Or did I make a wrong turn and walk in on a bunch of ballerinas?"

Everyone turned. Nobu leaned in the doorway arrogantly. He smirked, standing upright in his beater and baggy black sweatpants. His beater showed off hits toned chest and arms. I rolled my eyes. He was definitely egotistical.

"Everyone, this is Komatsu Nobu. He'll be working with us for a while," I said to everyone. No one moved. No one spoke. Everyone simply watched as Nobu made his way over to me. He came close, but I didn't take a step back. He put a hand on the wall behind me, blocking me to my right. I glared at him. He only smirked.

He didn't move away. I scoffed. Everyone was watching. He was _trying _to make a show. Only a couple minutes of him here and he was already pissing me off. Without warning, he slammed his other hand on the wall on the other side of my head, blocking me in on both sides. Everyone continued to watch. I saw TaeKyung give me a look over Nobu's shoulder. He wanted to know if I needed him to step in. I shot him a look back, saying I could handle myself.

"What are you doing?" I asked Nobu quietly.

"Nothing," he smiled slyly.

"Huh, funny," I scoffed, ducking under his arms and around him. I glared at everyone who was continuing to stare at me. Nobu chuckled.

"You think you're the shit, don't you, Miss Jung Aimee?"

I twirled around and glared at Nobu. "I could say the same about you, Mr. Komatsu Nobu. Now, either you do as I say, or get the hell out of my studio."

Nobu didn't answer. Everyone was silent, waiting for him to make a move. Finally, he scoffed.

"Fine by me," he said. I thought this meant he'd leave, but he made no move to. So instead, I relaxed my shoulders let out a breath through my nose.

"Now, everyone get back to practicing," I said. Nobu smirked and the trainees scrambled to get back to practicing.

As I walked by, TaeKyung grabbed my arm.

"What the hell was that about?" he asked harshly. ShinWoo, Jeremy, and MiNam also looked at me. I pulled away from TaeKyung.

"He's the client I went to meet this morning. I don't know what his problem is," I muttered. TaeKyung scoffed. MiNam blinked, looking over at Nobu.

"I think he's got a thing for you, noona," Jeremy noted, tilting his head at me. This time, it was my turn to scoff.

"I really don't think I care," I mumble. ShinWoo looks at MiNam, who simply shrugs. ShinWoo smiles at her, ruffling her hair. I walk away, a sick feeling in my gut.

Nobu was surprisingly civil during practice. Together, we made up a dance routine for him, based on his concept of 'sexy, sharp, and sectioned.' He was a good dancer and a fast learner.

"You're good," I subtly complimented him as he did the routine over again for me. He grinned.

"I know," he said, his arrogance back. I rolled my eyes. I started to walk away, but my foot got caught in the strap of Nobu's gym bag and I started to fall. But Nobu wrapped an arm around my waist, and caught me. A couple of others stopped to look at us. I blinked up at Nobu. He simply smirked.

"Watch your step, babe," he said. I glared at him, scrambling to get away.

"Don't call me babe," I said quickly before walking away.

"Aimee-" ShinWoo started as I walked past him.

"Don't," I said sharply.

"N-noona," Jeremy stuttered.

"_Don't._"


	5. Chapter 5

Over the next week, it seemed that Nobu _was _interested in me. In dance practice, his arrogance seemed to tone down. Outside of practice, he was arrogant and constantly followed me around. Once, he showed up as I was eating at a restaurant and insisted on eating with me. Then, he even had the nerve to tell me he'd had a great time on our little 'date'. He'd come into the habit of calling me 'sassy girl', since he got snapped at once for calling me 'babe'. It was completely despicable.

But what sickened me more was watching as ShinWoo and MiNam got close. It was strange, really. MiNam would fall asleep during practice and ShinWoo would walk over and lay her head on his shoulder. He also went and accompanied her every time she was alone. He'd also help her with anything she struggled with. Everything from the dance routine to the opening of a water bottle. It made me lurch. I hardly spoke to ShinWoo the whole week. He was either with MiNam or I was being pestered by Nobu.

"What do you think of this?" I asked Coordinator Wang. She glanced at the outfit I'd put together for the party tonight. Jeremy had decided that he wanted to throw Go MiNam a quick private party for his first stage performance.

"That's nice," Coordinator Wang said, smoothing her hand over the ripped jeans and black sequined strapless top I'd picked. "But maybe it's too edgy for a small party."

"Well what else would I wear?" I pouted at her. She smiled.

"Jung Aimee, I think you could use a new look," Coordinator Wang said, snapping her fingers together. I blinked.

"Eh?"

"The edgy, punk look you have is cute, but I think you should try to change your concept a little," she winked at me.

"_Eh_?" I repeated, blinking at her. She laughed and pulled out another outfit for me. It was a soft, blue turtleneck with short sleeves and a shimmery black miniskirt. She also grabbed a multi-strand necklace of small pearls.

"See? The skirt is still sexy, but the pearls and soft blue tone it down a bit," she grinned at me. I shrugged. It actually looked okay.

"It'll do," I tell her, sighing. She grins at me.

"Put it on," she said. I pull the curtain over the small dressing-room area of the room and change quickly into the ensemble.

As I stepped out, Coordinator Wang handed me a pair of black ankle boots with pearl studded buckles.

"They match perfectly," she gushed excitedly. I slip them on and Coordinator Wang sits me down to do my make-up.

"Is all this really necessary? It's just a small party," I say as she curls my eyelashes. I have my eyes closed, so I don't see her, but I know she's smiling. She brushes a pale blue eye-shadow over my eyelids and lines my eyes with white liner.

"You look perfect," she sighs, turning me to look in the mirror. I didn't feel like myself, strangely. The look was a lot softer than what I was used to.

"It's weird in a way," I mutter, looking at my pale, blushed cheeks, pink glossed lips, and shimmery blue eyelids. Coordinator Wang even put a pearl clip in my hair.

"You don't have to wear grey smoky-eyes for every party," Coordinator Wang simply smiled. I shrugged. I looked at myself in the mirror again. It _was _weird, but surprisingly, it was also very pretty. I touched the pearl clip in my hair.

"You ready?" Coordinator Wang asked. I shrugged, but smiled.

Just as I slipped on my black leather jacket, the door to the dressing studio opened. Nobu walked in, wearing his studded armbands, plaid red collar shirt and black suit jacket. He wore faded grey jeans and black combat boots. He smirked.

"You look nice," he commented. Coordinator Wang nudged me suggestingly, but I ignored her. I looked at Nobu.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, sighing.

"Taking you to the party," he made a 'duh' face.

"Not to burst your precious bubble, but no one invited you. It's a private party," I crossed my arms over my chest. It was true. No one had invited Nobu. No one liked him.

"Aw, come on. You can bring me as your date," he said, the smirk never leaving his face. I rolled my eyes.

"No thanks. I'm good," I say, passing Nobu off. I push past him, but he hooks onto my arm and drags me towards the door. I struggle against his grip, but he doesn't let up. He waves to Coordinator Wang, who simply smiles uneasily and waves back.

"Let go!" I yell at Nobu. He ignores me.

"Get on," Nobu gesturing to his motorcyle. He had already climbed on and pulled his helmet on. I crossed my arms, glaring at him.

"Screw this," I say, turning and walking away.

"I'm your only choice," he called after me. I don't even turn around to glare at him.

"It's called _walking_, dipshit," I snap over my shoulder.

"Ouch," he laughs, starting up his bike. "Fine. Whatever you want, sassy girl."

He drives off on his bike, completely leaving me behind. In a way, I don't care. In another way, I can't believe he _actually _left me. Still, I decide not to care and continue walking towards the A. dorm.

I'd only gone about a mile or so when my feet began to ache from the four-inch heeled boots. I cursed. I wasn't a high-heels kind of girl. I stopped and shook out my feet, trying to get the aching to go away.

Just then, there's a bright light. I have a quick flashback of the day when the accident happened. I scream, and fall back. I stumble.

"Woah!"

Nobu manages to jump of his bike and catch me just as I nearly hit the floor. I look up at him, blinking. It…was just Nobu? Anger swells my chest. I push him away, slapping him across the face.

"Asshole!"

"What did I do this time?!" he shouts, rubbing his cheek and glaring at me.

I shove him away, taking off quickly down the street. For some reason, tears start to burn behind my eyes. I blink them away, quickening my pace into a slight jog. Nobu takes off after me, dragging his bike along.

"Look, I'm sorry I scared you, but gosh, you didn't have to hit me!" Nobu calls out. I ignore him. I start to run.

"Damn," he curses, climbing onto his bike and starting after me. He catches up to me, since I can't run far in heels. He climbs off his bike and grabs me around by my shoulders. He turns me around to face him. I try to shake him off, but he's got me tightly in his grip.

"Stop, Aimee," he says, his voice surprisingly soft. I ignore him and continue to struggle under his hold. He stares at me a long moment as I try to push him away.

"Shut up, Aimee," he mutters. I ignore him again. Then, to shut me up, he pulls me close and presses his lips against mine. I freeze immediately. I don't kiss him back, but I'm too stunned to pull away. Finally, when he pulls away, he's smirking again. I blinked, looking at him. Then, coming to my senses, I shake my head, and slap him again.

"Ah! Damn it," he shouts, rubbing his cheek.

"Don't touch me," I snap before turning and walking away.

He comes after me. I curse. He was being too damn persistent. Nobu follows alongside me on his bike, but says nothing. I don't say anything either. I just walk. I start to limp, my feet hurting from the heels. Nobu seems to notice this.

"Get on," he says, holding out a helmet to me. I ignore him and keep walking. He growls, pulls his bike in front of me, and shoves the helmet at me again. I stare at him. He stares back. I realize he isn't going to move or let me pass, so I snatch the helmet from him and climb on behind him.

"Better hold on tight," he grins like a little boy.

"Shut up. I'm gonna get a mouthful already when the guy's find out your with me at the party," I simply mutter. Even so, he's still grinning the whole way to the party. We arrive almost an hour late. I quickly get off the bike, handing Nobu his helmet. He simply grins. I ignore him and make my way to the door. He parks his bike and quickly joins me. I wonder what everyone will think when they see me with Nobu. I knock on the door.

I'm greeted with a giant hug by Jeremy as the door opens.

"Noona!" he exclaims. "You're late, but it's okay! Come on!"

He freezes as he sees Nobu walk up behind me. Nobu grins and waves. Jeremy looks at me, but I simply bite my lip and shrug. Jeremy shrugs as well, and leads us both inside.

"MiNam isn't here yet, but he will be soon!" Jeremy calls over his shoulder.

"What is this even for?" Nobu scoffs. I glare at him.

"You're not even supposed to be here, so I suggest you behave," I scold him. He rolls his eyes.

"Yes, _mother_," he says sarcastically. Jeremy and I exchange glances, but he doesn't say anything.

"Damn straight," I cross my arms as we walk to the kitchen. "And anyway, the party is to congratulate MiNam on a successful debut performance."

"Ah, Aimee," TaeKyung calls me over as we walk into the kitchen, but stops as he sees Nobu. His eyes narrow at me. I shrug, batting my lashes innocently at him. He rolls his eyes and scoff, but I know he's not irritated with me. He's irritated with Nobu.

ShinWoo is also looking now as everyone walks in. He looks at Jeremy first, who shrugs. Then, he looks at me. I shrug as well. ShinWoo's brows furrow a moment. He was the one who especially didn't like Nobu. Nobu had once been arrogant enough to insult MiNam about his dancing and when ShinWoo stepped up to him, Nobu had almost thrown a punch at him.

"Where's your bathroom?" Nobu suddenly asks as he notices everyone staring at him. It was strange. He almost seemed nervous. Jeremy pointed him to the bathroom and he left, winking at me over his shoulder. I rolled my eyes.

"Did you bring him here?" ShinWoo asks, sighing irritably. I look at him.

"Of course not," I reply. TaeKyung glances over my shoulder toward the direction Nobu went in.

"Then why is he here? Doesn't he have any manners to know not to come to a party he's not invited to?" TaeKyung scoffed, taking his beer back from me. I shrug.

"I don't really care. Just keep him away," I reach to take TaeKyung's beer, but he turns away. I pout. ShinWoo reaches into the fridge and hands me one.

"Thanks," I sigh. "So is MiNam on his way?"

"Yeah," ShinWoo says.

"He doesn't know we're throwing the party, so shush!" Jeremy grins. I elbow him. He flinches.

"Since when are you nice to MiNam?" I asked. Jeremy smiled nervously. HE was always bullying MiNam when I saw them together. It was as if he had something against MiNam. Sometimes, I wondered if Jeremy knew as well.

"Didn't you hear about what happened at the Asian Festival?" he asks, scanning the room for a moment. He looks back at me. I shake my head.

"No, I didn't go. I had to work with Nobu. I only saw it on TV," I said. ShinWoo sighed and I sensed something was troubling not only him, but the others as well. I look at all of them.

"What happened?" I ask, slowly putting me beer down.

"You know Go MiNam is an orphan, right?" TaeKyung asks slowly. I think a moment.

"No, I didn't know," I shake my head.

"Well, MiNam was looking for his mother. It turns out that she passed away a while ago," ShinWoo explained. "He was pretty upset. Crying and everything after the performance."

"That's terrible," I mutter, looking down at my hands.

"He's still pretty upset," Jeremy said, sighing. "That's why I wanted to throw this party for him. To cheer him up. But I don't know how well that will go with Mr. Negative Arrogant-Ass here."

"Right," I mutter. ShinWoo shakes his head.

"Really, what is he doing here?"

I sit down, sipping at my beer, ignoring ShinWoo's question. How sad, I think about MiNam It must be hard to find out your mother was dead. I think about my own family, but it starts to hurt, and I shake it away from my thoughts. TaeKyung looks at me. He frowns.

"Are you alright?" he asks. I look up. Jeremy and ShinWoo are also looking at me. I nod.

"Yeah," I shrug,

No one says anything. We all sit, silent for a moment. Then, clapping his hands together suddenly, Jeremy stands up.

"We should get back to work!" he says happily. He grabbed one of the many plates of food the table and runs them up to the roof. Before we knew it, everyone was running plates of food upstairs to the roof while TaeKyung simply stood around and glared at the plates of food as if they'd done something to him.

"What are you guys doing?" Nobu asks, walking in. He stares at all of us.

"Helping out," ShinWoo says simply, not looking at him.

"How nice of you all," Nobu says, plopping himself down on a chair and propping his feet up on the kitchen counter. TaeKyung reaches over and knocks his feet from the counter. Nobu glares at him, but TaeKyung meets it with his own.

"Get your dirty feet off the counter. That's where we eat," TaeKyung scolded him, making a disgusted face. "Don't you have any manners?"

Nobu simply smirked. I wanted to smack that arrogant smirk off his face. It really irritated me. But Nobu didn't stick his feet back on the counter, so I decided not to say anything and simply picked up another pack of beer and brought them to the roof.

"Okay, we're all set," I smiled. Nobu stood beside me, slipping his arms around my shoulders. I shrug him off and move away towards the edge of the roof. Looking down, I see MiNam's manager's car pull up in the driveway.

"He's here," I say, hushed.

Jeremy flicks the lights off. Everyone stands, ready. I hear Nobu sigh irritably, but I ignore him.

The door slowly opens. Jeremy flicks on the lights and confetti pops all over the place. MiNam jumps.

"Now, we are going to begin the celebration party for Go MiNam's successful debut performance!" Jeremy exclaims happily. MiNam blinks, confused. I laugh. Jeremy has confetti all over him and it looks ridiculous.

ShinWoo claps quietly, smiling. I clap as well and MiNam starts to smile

"Celebration party?" MiNam asks.

"Yep!" Jeremy laughs. "And for this celebration, many people have come!"

Jeremy walks over to the cardboard stand-ups of celebrities. We all watch as he mimics the celebrities as if to welcome MiNam. MiNam laughs, all the sadness of her mother's death gone for the moment. ShinWoo and I laugh as well, and I even notice TaeKyung smiling.

"Hyung-nim! Hyung-nim! Hyung-nim!" Jeremy exclaims in a nasally growl. He jumps at ShinWoo like a dog. ShinWoo chuckles and Jeremy jumps at MiNam. She laughs as well. Nobu simply rolls his eyes. I elbow him.

"Jeremy, ShinWoo hyung, Hyung-nim, noona," she looks at Nobu. "And Nobu. Thank you all."

"Don't thank me, I'm just here," Nobu says, shrugging. We ignore him.

I throw my arms around MiNam's shoulders and hug her. I laugh. Jeremy stops jumping around and walks over to the table set with food. Out of the corner of my eye, I see ShinWoo and Nobu looking at me as I hug MiNam.

"Come on, we were all waiting on you," Jeremy smiles brightly. I keep an arm around MiNam's shoulders, ushering her towards the table to eat. She smiles.

"You haven't eaten anything until now, right?" ShinWoo asks, smiling kindly at her. I watch the way he looks at her, and I know he knows. She simply smiles back at him and then looks back at me.

"Come on, noona. I'm starving," she laughs, throwing an arm around me as well. I force a smile, walking with her to the table. Nobu follows last, looking just as pissed and grumpy as TaeKyung.

We start to eat, making jokes and telling stories. Jeremy makes comments about TaeKyung's kindness, that although he didn't help out, he at least didn't tell any of us _not _to throw the party. Nobu simply sits, not saying a word. He seems strangely uncomfortable.

"Thank you guys so much," MiNam repeats over and over again.

"We're all a team. It's our responsibility to stick with you and make sure you're happy," I say, smiling at her. She smiles at me again. I look at the guys. "Isn't that right?"

"Definitely," ShinWoo smiles.

"Yep!" Jeremy grins.

"Thank you guys for all thinking like that," MiNam bows her head. I nudge her in the shoulder.

"Yah, stop your thanking and just enjoy the time," I tell her. She smiles and nods.

"I'm sorry for leaving you all at the performance like that," she says, peeking through her lashes at TaeKyung. "It must have been a real burden."

I realize she's feeling bad, despite what I told her about enjoying the time. TaeKyung sighs and crosses his arms over his chest.

"Go Mi Nam?" he says. She looks up. He averts his gaze a moment, but gives out the compliment anyways. "You were of some worth today. The performance. You did well."

MiNam breaks out into a smile. I suppose a compliment from TaeKyung was rare, so she had a right to be so happy. Jeremy immediately starts talking again, bringing up jokes from variety shows.

"Isn't it funny to you guys?" he whines when no one but MiNam laughs.

"I've seen it too many times," I muttered.

"I'm sick of it," ShinWoo pouts.

"Sick of it?" Jeremy looks horrified. "Aren't you a little too harsh?"

Jeremy whined and whined about how he used to cover for TaeKyung and ShinWoo when they didn't want to go on shows. ShinWoo scolded him lightly, saying that at least TaeKyung tried it once. I bursted out laughing remembering the one time. TaeKyung turned red. Nobu simply raised an eyebrow at all of us. MiNam got excited.

"Oh! Hyung-nim, you appeared on television shows doing the stuff Jeremy just did a while ago?" she asked, grinning. TaeKyung looked away with a red face.

"Go MiNam," Jeremy leaned forward, a sly smirk on his face. "Would you like to see it?"

"It was a long time ago," TaeKyung interrupted before MiNam could answer. "I doubt there's anything left of it."

Jeremy shook his head. "I put some aside to watch when I get depressed."

Jeremy stood and dragged MiNam towards the door. TaeKyung had a horrified expression on his face. ShinWoo simply averted his gaze and continued eating. I started to stand, wanting to see if Jeremy had really kept the video.

"Psh, it was such a long time ago. There's probably nothing left," TaeKyung crosses his arms. ShinWoo shakes his head.

"No, I've sent hem too," he says. I burst out laughing again as TaeKyung's face goes from apathetic to horrified once again. I heave over in laughter, clutching to ShinWoo's arm to keep from falling. ShinWoo smirks as well and TaeKyung jumps up from the table and dashes inside after MiNam and Jeremy.

"You're serious?" I ask ShinWoo between laughs.

"Yeah. I watch it with Jeremy sometimes," ShinWoo replied.

"I _have _to see this," I try to calm down my laughter.

Suddenly, Nobu bolts up from his chair. ShinWoo and I turn and look at him. He doesn't look at either of us.

"I'm leaving," he says simply. Neither ShinWoo or I say anything. He makes his way to the door inside and ShinWoo and I look at each other. I shrug and stand.

"I'll see him to the door," I tell ShinWoo. I smile. "Don't let TaeKyung ruin the video without me."

"Yeah," he smiles softly.

I go inside and get to the door to find Nobu putting on his jacket.

"Hey, you're really leaving?" I ask. He glances at me angrily, and zips up his jacket loudly. Despite myself, I jump.

"No one wants me here anyways," he snaps at me. I cross my arms over my chest.

"I wonder why, huh?" I ask sarcastically.

"Whatever," he huffs angrily and yanks the door open. For some reason, I feel bad. I take off out after him and lay a hand on his arm as he reaches his bike.

"Look, I'm sorry. I told you, you weren't invited. And anyways, you have a really bad attitude, alright? What did you expect? Hugs and kisses?" I say to him, trying not to be harsh, but knowing I was without even meaning to be. He scoffs.

"Well, if they have a problem with it, then I don't really care," he sticks his nose in my face. I hold back my urge to spit at him. Why was he being such an ass?

"Why are you so mad?" I ask him, sticking my nose back in his face. He pulls back. His lips purse a moment, as if he was thinking. Then, he shakes his head and simply climbs on his bike.

"Nobu, answer me!" I snap at him, but he ignores me. Instead, he slips on his helmet and takes off down the driveway. I grit my teeth and cross my arms. Looking back at the dorm, I can see TaeKyung chasing Jeremy around in the living room. MiNam sits in the center of them, laughing with tears of laughter streaming down her face. In the back of the room, I see ShinWoo standing, smiling, looking at MiNam. My heart wrenches, and something makes me want to puke. But I hold myself back and simply walk back to the door.


	6. Chapter 6

"Ah, so pretty!" MiNam exclaimed.

All the boys were gathered around the television, watching some commercial about shoes. They were staring at the shoe model's legs. They were all taking a break from dancing, so Aimee didn't mind. She simply sat with them, eating the take-out with them. She looked up as MiNam spoke. Jeremy looked at her as well.

"Go MiNam, you like things like this?" he asked, gesturing to the model's legs on the television. MiNam tilted her head dreamily at the TV.

"It's just that the shoes are so pretty," she sighs. The guys blink at her, dumbfounded.

"Not the legs, but the shoes?" Jeremy asked.

I try to catch MiNam's gaze, but she's looking at the TV. I slap my forehead, frustrated. Nobody seems to notice me.

"Usually when a guy sees things like this, their eyes go to the legs, not the shoes," Jeremy blinks at MiNam, who is still completely dazed by the shoes. "Right?"

"Yeah," the other guy's reply.

"Do you really think it's pretty?" ShinWoo asks MiNam. I look at him. He's only looking at her. I quickly take another bite of noodles from the take-out boxes.

"Well, it's just I've never been able to wear shoes like that," MiNam says, glancing at ShinWoo briefly. Everyone remains silent as they stare at MiNam. Quickly, I reach over and pinch MiNam lightly on the arm.

"Ouch," she rubs her arm. I give her a quick eyeball message and she immediately notices the guys staring at her. She scoffs sarcastically and makes a nervous chuckle. "Because I'm a guy! That's right. I'm a guy! I've never worn heels before so it's fascinating and pretty to me! Ah! The model's legs sure are hot."

I slap my forehead again and groan.

"Are you alright, noona?" one of the trainees elbow me. I look up at him and sigh.

"Never better," I mutter. I look at MiNam. She gives me a slight, nervous smile. I roll my eyes, but grin back at her. She's so timid and naïve.

Go MiNam sat across from ShinWoo, sipping at her orange juice. He smiled at her. She smiled back timidly.

* * *

"I'm glad you came," he said. "I had a sudden urge to eat this restaurant's food and I'm glad you could join me."

"It's no problem," MiNam smiled. "ShinWoo hyung is very kind to me, so I have no problem spending time with you."

"I'm glad to hear that," ShinWoo's smile was almost nervous. "I need your help with something. Choosing something out for a girl for me, because I'll be meeting her later. And I really like her. I want to impress her. I was also wondering, do you want to go to the amusement park with me?"

"Sure, I'd love to!" Go MiNam exclaimed. "I've never been to an amusement park before."

"That's good then," ShinWoo smiled.

"Oh, and I'd be happy to help you pick something out. Who's this girl you're going to meet?" Go MiNam asked. She wondered if it was Aimee, but didn't ask.

"Just someone I like and I want to do something nice for her," ShinWoo explained.

"Is it a girl from the office?" Go MiNam asked. ShinWoo gave a nervous chuckle.

"Yes, it is," he said. Go MiNam gave him a thumbs up.

"I'm sure she will like you back, ShinWoo hyung. You are very handsome and charming," she said, grinning. He broke out into a pleased smile.

* * *

I walked down the street towards the restaurant where TaeKyung had said he was. He'd called so quickly that he didn't even tell me why he needed me to come get him. Didn't he have his own care? I didn't mind, though. I had nothing to do anyways. Anyway, he made it sound extremely urgent.

I went inside and looked around for TaeKyung, but I didn't see him anywhere. I sighed, raking my hair back with my fingers.

"Yah, TaeKyung oppa, where are you?" I muttered.

I headed to the bathrooms. I'd call TaeKyung, but it was too loud in the lobby. As I approached the bathroom corridor, I was surprised to see ShinWoo burst out of the men's bathroom and straight into the women's.

"Um…"I muttered to myself, confused. I walked down the corridor, and ShinWoo burst out into the hall again. He seemed startled to see her.

"Oh, Aimee," he said, panting slightly.

"Did you lose something in the women's restroom?" I asked, not being able to help but grin. He flashed a nervous smile, but before he could answer, his cell phone rang.

"Hello? Go MiNam?" he let out an exasperated sigh. "Where are you?"

There was a brief silence as Go MiNam spoke on the other line. ShinWoo frowned, but nodded. I watched silently as ShinWoo's face darknened.

"I see," he muttered slowly before hanging up. He hung his head and my heart went out to him. He looked extremely sad. The expression on his face was of pure bitterness and disappointment.

"ShinWoo oppa?" I reached a hand out to him. He looked up at her.

"Was that by any chance Go MiNam?" I asked slowly.

"Yes," he muttered. "Why?"

"I'm looking for TaeKyung," I explained, biting my lower lip. "Is he by any chance with MiNam?"

I saw the muscles in ShinWoo's jaw clench slightly. But then, ShinWoo smiled. But I knew him well enough to know it was a fake smile.

"Yes, he is," ShinWoo said, and then quickly side-stepped me.

"Wait, oppa!" I had to take quick strides to match his long ones. Slowly, he turned and faced me again.

"Is there something else you needed?" he asked. His tone was neither friendly nor harsh. It was strict, as if he was simply doing business. I frowned at the thought. Was I only a dance choreographer to him, or what? Since when had he been so formal with me?

"I was wondering," I muttered slowly. "Did you want to go to the amusement park with me?"

"Weren't you looking for TaeKyung?" he asked, instead of answering.

"I was, but I think he should be fine with Go MiNam. Besides, he called me to get him. If he already left with MiNam, I'm sure he doesn't need me anymore," I said. ShinWoo looked at me a long moment, as if thinking. Then, he looked her up and down and noticed her sudden change in style.

"You're dressed like a proper young lady today," he smiled. I blushed, brushing back my loose waves and smoothing out my pink pencil skirt. I'd paired it with a ruffled white blouse and black handbag. I'd bought an entirely new wardrobe just the other day. I didn't know why, but for some reason, I wanted to dress 'properly'. Part of it also had to do with wanting to impress ShinWoo, but I was too proud to admit that aloud. I'd even bothered to go out and by a bunch of new high-heeled shoes. Today, I wore plain, patent-leather black ones.

"So will you go with me?" I ask, reminding him of my question.

"Alright, but I want to do something first. You're a girl, you can help me out," he smiled at me. "Just let me get my things from my room."

I followed him to the large private room he'd rented. On the table, there were two sets of dining ware, as if it was meant for two people to eat at.

"What, did you have some kind of lunch date or something?" I teased, seeing the dishware. He smirked.

"Something like that," he said, grabbing a couple of bags from the table.

I pouted at his answer. Had ShinWoo had a lunch date with someone? I decided not to ponder the thought. It would only upset me. And besides, I was going to the amusement park with him, so it would be fun, and I'd be happy anyways.

Before we went to the amusement park, however, we stopped by an elegant boutique in the busy shopping central. I looked around at the elegant display of shoes, jewelry, and handbags.

"Here, I want you to help me pick out a pretty shoe that you think a girl would like," ShinWoo said, gesturing to the shoes. I followed him over to the shoe area, looking at all the different styles and colors.

"Well, oppa, it really depends on who the girl is," I said, looking over the shoes. I wasn't much familiar with high-heels, though I'd just bought a bunch of them the other day. I didn't like to wear them unless it was a special occasion or a party. Heels weren't good for dance practice, and they scratched her studio floor. And everyone knew, I _hated _my studio floor being scratched.

"She's a sweet, innocent, conservative girl, shall say," ShinWoo said.

"Definitely not me then," I muttered to myself quietly. The thought almost saddened me, but I decided I wouldn't think about it and simply help ShinWoo out. Maybe he was just shopping for a friend. Or a close relative. _Yeah, right._

I pursed my lips together. My eyes scanned the various walls for a pretty shoe for the, as ShinWoo said, 'sweet, innocent, conservative' girl.

A pair of shoes on the far end of the room caught my eye. I made my way over, ShinWoo following suite. The shoes were made of a pastel pink satin. With a two-inch heel, peep-toe, and white ribbon, the shoe screamed innocence to me.

"These are pretty," I smiled, holding it up to show ShinWoo. He took it from me, inspecting it gently in his hands.

"Yes, it is quite pretty," he nodded. I smiled, pleased that he agreed.

He bought them. They weren't too pricey. They seemed worth their price.

"Are they a gift?" I asked coyly as they made their way to the amusement park.

"Yes," he smiled slightly.

"For whom?" I asked, biting my lip. He simply smirked. I nudged him with my elbow and forced a smirk.

"A secret for a secret?" I suggested. He smiled, but remained silent. I pouted. Did that mean that he had a secret love somewhere? _Go MiNam._ I shook my head. _Shut _up, I told myself. I was being stupid. I inwardly kicked myself. This was enough for me. I looked at ShinWoo. He smiled back at me. It was enough for me to just stand by him and both of us to be happy like this.

When we arrived at the amusement park, ShinWoo wouldn't let me pay my own ticket. Being the gentleman he was, he kept insisting to pay for mine but I refused and paid it myself. He seemed to sulk a bit, and I laughed.

"You of all people should know I don't look for anyone to take care of me," I grin, elbowing him. He smirks.

"Yes," he replied.

"Ah, come on! Let's go there!" I suddenly said, taking ShinWoo's hand and dragging him over to a roller coaster.

"Aren't you afraid you'll mess up your hair?" ShinWoo teased, yanking playfully at a strand of my loose waves. I frowned a moment, but laughed it off.

"I'm not Yoo He Yi," I said, sticking my tongue out playfully at him. "Come on."

Together, we got on the Viking and rode it around. We both laughed as the wind blew through our hair and made the adrenaline pulse through our veins. I let out a childish scream as the carts looped around. ShinWoo grinned, reached over and took my hand. I couldn't help but grin wider. It felt good to be here with ShinWoo, holding his hand as I screamed on a rollercoaster.

After the Viking, ShinWoo dragged me over to the carousel.

"How tacky!" I joked. He grinned.

We both ran to pick out animals. ShinWoo picked a proud-looking black horse with elegant jewels. I picked the nearby rabbit that was embellished with daisies and magnolias.

"Why the rabbit?" he laughed. I threw her arms around the rabbit's thick neck as if protecting it.

"He's cute," I replied, pouting fakely. He laughed again and I smiled as well. I could get used to the sound of ShinWoo's laughter. I'd heard it many times before when I was still injured, but it seemed to have been centuries since I'd heard it again. As my rabbit bobbed up and down as the carousel turned, I watched ShinWoo. The way he sat proudly, just as proud as his black horse. The way he smiled to himself, staring off into space. The way he laughed every time he looked at me riding the giant colorful rabbit. I loved the feeling of being with him. And as tacky as it sounded, I wanted to preserve the moment in my heart forever.

"Oppa, picture!" I said suddenly, pulling my Samsung Corby from my pocket. He smiled, posing goofily with his head near the waving black mane of his horse. I laughed, snapping the picture on my phone and saving it.

"Your turn," he smiled, taking out his own phone. I flashed a peace sign and a goofy grin, one arm wrapped around the neck of my rabbit. He took the picture, and I noticed him stare at me a moment. Some hope swelled in my heart, but he looked away again and stared off into space. Sighing, I shrugged it off. I smiled again, throwing my arms up in the air and leaning back on my rabbit. ShinWoo looked at me again. I laughed, somehow feeling as if this slow, cheesy carousel was the best ride in the park. ShinWoo smiled as he looked at me. I couldn't remember the last time I was so happy.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** Hey guys! Sorry I'm not updating much. My flash drive died on me…hehe. And I'm watching Boys Over Flowers right now, so I am really intent on finishing that =) I like it lots, so I recommend it to anyone who liked You're Beautiful! =) The guys aren't as cute, but hey, it's pretty funny, hehehe. Plus, I'm getting lots of great inspirations from that drama for my fanfics! =) Anyways, enjoy!

ShinWoo pulled into the driveway. I look at him. He smiles back at me.

"Thanks for accompanying me today," he said. "I really appreciate it."

"It's nothing," I smile. "You used to comfort me when I was sad too, remember?"

He grins. "Who said I was sad?"

"I know you better than you think," I say, smiling softly.

He lets out a breath. "Was I sad to you?"

"Yes," I nod. "I just don't know why you were sad."

He smiles at me again, but says nothing. Before I can ask why he was sad, he opens the door and comes to my side. He opens my door for me. I step out. ShinWoo flashes me another smile, before turning and going inside. I sigh, deciding to leave him alone. He was such a pain sometimes.

Jeremy is on the porch, playing with Jolie.

"Ah, noona! Were you out with ShinWoo hyung?" he asks, grinning. I nod, kneeling down to pet Jolie. She licks me on the cheek. I laugh.

"Jolie looks like she's doing good," I say, scratching her behind the ears. She grins up at me. I kiss her on the forehead. Jeremy grins.

"Jeremy loves Jolie very much," he says, childishly. I smile.

"Aimee loves you _both_," I kiss Jolie again. Then, I reach over and kiss Jeremy quickly on the head. He grins at me. I wave a quick goodbye before going back into the house.

After changing into white tee and sweatpants, I start on dinner. I take out the boneless fish fillets that I'd bought the day earlier and set them in oil on a clean flat pan. I cook them until their only slightly golden brown and then take them out and onto a plate. I slice some cilantro and onions, sprinkling them over the fillets. I add pepper and salt as well as fried garlic and a bit of soy sauce.

"I'll never know why you chose to be a dancer instead of a cook."

I turn and grin at ShinWoo. He smiles back.

"I became a dancer so I could watch over TaeKyung. You know how that big baby is," I smirk. He chuckles.

"I'm going up to the roof to get some fresh air. Call me when dinner's finished, will you?" he says. I nod, and go back to cooking.

A couple of minutes later, I hear MiNam outside. I was just placing the fillets on the table. MiNam rushes in, sliding to a stop in front of me.

"Ooh, yum," she comments on my fillets. Then, shaking her head, she asks me, "Is ShinWoo home yet?"

"Yes, he's on the roof," I tell her, blinking. She grins, bowing a quick thanks. I watch as she runs upstairs. TaeKyung walks in not a second later. He scoffs, hearing MiNam's footsteps pounding up to the roof.

"Where have you guys been?" I asked. He looks at me.

"We got lost, thanks to that little nuisance," he muttered.

"Right," I say sarcastically. "And it had nothing to do with your lack of direction."

TaeKyung glared at me. "No. It did not."

"Sure," I smirk. He rolled his eyes at me. I look and the fillets and sigh. "I'll go get MiNam and ShinWoo. Tell Jeremy it's time to eat."

He simply nods and goes out to the back.

I walk up the stairs to the roof. As I open the door, I see MiNam and ShinWoo are still talking. I duck back a little and listen.

"Then, ShinWoo hyung, do you want still want to go to the amusement park?" MiNam asked ShinWoo, who was sitting down on the table.

"We're close, so we can still go and have fun!" she grinned

"I'm too tired now," ShinWoo said simply, his voice monotone and slightly angry. I peek around the corner. MiNam frowns as ShinWoo stands and heads for the door. I duck again. He walks past me. I edge myself into the corner. He doesn't see me. I purse my lips together and go out to MiNam.

"It's time to eat," I say, my voice a bit soft.

"Ah, is it?" she's smiling again. "I'll come straight down then."

She heads for the door, but I don't follow. She looks back at me.

"Aren't you coming, noona?" MiNam asks.

"I'll be down in a second," I say, giving her a soft smile. She simply nods and heads down. I stay on the roof, overlooking the street in front of the dorms. I remembered earlier, ShinWoo saying he had some kind of lunch date. Had he been planning on going to the amusement park already…with MiNam? If that was the case, I knew he knew for sure, MiNam was a girl. And those shoes…had they been meant for MiNam as well? My heart sank. I pounded myself on the chest, trying to make the pain go away. Then, feeling silly, I headed back downstairs.

As I walked into the kitchen downstairs, I found no one there. I heard talking in the living room, so I went in. All the boys stood, except MiNam, who was sitting beside a stout lady with curly hair and bows. President Ahn was sitting as well, talking.

"Ah! Aimee!" he said loudly, ushering me over. "This is MiNam's aunt. She'll be staying here for a while with us."

"Hello," I smile. MiNam's aunt grins and takes my hand, pulling me closer to her. I stumble forwards.

"_Yah_, you're so pretty, dear," she smoothes her hands over my cheeks. "Beautiful skin. Just like I remember our little Mi Nyeo having."

"What?" I ask, confused. She lets go of me, smiling. I rub my cheeks and look at the boys. They all seem as dumbfounded as me, with TaeKyung looking a little amused. I stick my tongue out at him. He simply smirks. I notice MiNam looks nervous, and I wonder why. I try to meet her gaze, but she's too busy darting her eyes and biting her lip.

"So, you all don't have a problem with MiNam's aunt staying here a few days right?" President Ahn asked. I shrugged.

"It doesn't make a difference to me," I say.

"Well, since my mom stayed here when she came from Europe, then there's not a problem," Jeremy replied, though his voice was a bit shaky. I grinned.

"Ah, that was fun!" I chuckle. Jeremy flashes a quick grin.

"That's the spirit, Jeremy!" President Ahn flashes his all-star smile and snaps his fingers tackily. MiNam's aunt sighs dreamily.

"Ah, our MiNam's President is such a kind person," she says, scooting closer to President Ahn. I blink a few time, noticing. Cringing, I decide not to ponder the though and simply laugh inwardly to myself.

"Yes," he mutters nervously, scooting further from MiNam's aunt. "You can stay in MiNam's room. Wait, no…Even if you are related, MiNam is still a boy so it'll be strange. But then, you can use MiNam's room for yourself and MiNam can share with someone else."

He looks at the boys. All of them look away. I bite my lip. _What do I do now? Should I do anything?_

"Huh?!" MiNam exclaims.

"What?!" Jeremy jumps back.  
_Should I help?_

"MiNam can share with me," I say, without thinking. President Ahn looks at me strangely, as well as MiNam's aunt and the other guys. I blink, realizing what I'd just said. I blush.

"Ah, I mean that MiNam's aunt can share with me," I chuckle nervously.

"You're room is much too small, Aimee," President Ahn shakes his head. "MiNam can just share with the guys. We're all guys here, aren't we?" He grins.

I look at MiNam. She looks mortified.

'_I tried_,' I mouth, and she nods, giving me a soft smile.

"Ah, Jeremy, since you are the youngest, you should share," President Ahn points at Jeremy, who simply looks mortified.

"You want me to…share with…._Go MiNam_?" Jeremy points a finger at MiNam like he was accusing him of murder. Jeremy shakes his head. "No. No. I don't have the courage to share one room…with him."

I look at Jeremy. Why was he so nervous? Unless he knew as well? The frustration was killing me. Did _everyone _know about Go MiNam? Ugh.

President Ahn scoffs at Jeremy's reply. He nods his chin towards ShinWoo.

"Then what about you, ShinWoo?" he asks. I silently glare daggers at President Ahn's back, but I say nothing. After realizing I was being stupid, I changed my glance to ShinWoo. He seemed to ponder the thought a moment. Surely, he'd say yes. If it wasn't that he liked MiNam, it would surely be that he was being a gentleman.

Instead, ShinWoo simply glances at TaeKyung.

"There's someone else he'd be more comfortable with," ShinWoo simply replies, crossing his arms across his chest. I look at TaeKyung, but he simply looks away from me.

_What the hell is going on here?_

"TaeKyung?" President Ahn asks.

"_No_," TaeKyung says immediately.

MiNam pouts. President Ahn scoffs, frustrated.

"Yah, what's wrong with you guys? What's wrong with sharing a room for a few days?" he shakes his head in disgust. Then, he looks at MiNam again. "MiNam, you choose. Who do you want to stay with?"

I open my mouth, but President Ahn shushes me.

"No, no, no," he says in English. "I already told you Aimee."

"_Meanie_," I mutter to him in English. He scoffs at me, but says nothing back.

We turn our attention back to MiNam, who is stuttering about who she should share a room with. Nervous, she keeps glancing at me for help, but I don't know what to say. Jeremy seems to dislike her, TaeKyung really hates her, and ShinWoo likes her.

Of course though, I don't want her sharing a room with ShinWoo. It was a choice between letting her stay in the same room as the guy I like, or letting her suffer the torment of staying in one room with someone who despises her.

'_TaeKyung,_' I mouth.

'_What?!' _MiNam exclaims. I simply nod my head. Everyone stares at MiNam, waiting to hear her choice. I nod my head again, and MiNam shuts her eyes like the choice will kill her, and I have to admit, it just _might_.

"If I absolutely have to share a room with someone…" she starts, biting her lower lip. There's a long silence. I glance at the guys. ShinWoo refuses to meet MiNam's gaze. Jeremy looks disgusted, and TaeKyung is glaring at the top of MiNam's head. I look at ShinWoo. He locks eyes with me a moment, then turns away. I glance at Manager Ma, but he's only looking at MiNam.

"You can't mean me?!" TaeKyung exclaims.

MiNam simply nods, her index finger pointing up at TaeKyung. She looks nervous, as if TaeKyung might knock her upside the head any moment. And from the way he's looking at her, I'm thinking he just might. ShinWoo, Jeremy, President Ahn, MiNam's aunt, Manager Ma, and I all look at TaeKyung.

"That's right!" President Ahn grins. "Okay, okay. Since TaeKyung's room is the biggest, share with him. Okay!"

TaeKyung is fuming. He glares at President Ahn.

"No! Never!" he snaps. "Go MiNam, look me in the eyes. You don't want this either, right?"

MiNam looks at him, then to me, then to Manager Ma, then to TaeKyung again. She gives a nervous smile.

"But in this case, you're the most comfortably decision, hyung-nim," MiNam mutters. She glances at me again for help. I open my mouth to speak to TaeKyung, but he cuts me off.

"I'm not comfortable, I'm _uncomfortable_," he snaps at her. She hunches her shoulders. I immediately feel bad. I make a fist at TaeKyung from behind President Ahn. TaeKyung raises an eyebrow at me.

'_Be nice, you punk!'_ I mouth.

He scoffs and rolls his eyes at me.

"Ah! You punks!" President Ahn stands up. I jump back to avoid getting hit by him., He throws his arms up. He shakes his head at the boys.

"Go MiNam, go pack your stuff. Let's go to my place," he suggests. "Your aunt can use the guest room and we can share a room."

"What?!" MiNam, Manager Ma, and I all exclaim at once.

"Wah, what's wrong with you all?" President Ahn stares at all of us. Manager Ma shakes his head at President Ahn, but Ahn just throws an arm around his shoulders and grins.

"I get bored by myself too you know!" he says. "We can work out, go to the sauna, and scrub each other's backs!"

I gag just picturing the sight. My face turns red for MiNam, though hers is pretty red as well. MiNam turns to TaeKyung. She puts her hands together in a pleading notion.

"Noona! Help me!" she begs. I open my mouth, but shake my head. There was nothing I could do. I bury my face in my hands and groan. This was terrible.

"Hyung-nim!" MiNam attemps to beg TaeKyung.

TaeKyung simply glances at her and looks away. Oh my God. I can't help but panic myself. I shoot TaeKyung a look, but he's avoiding my gaze.

"Hyung-nim!" MiNam begs, her voice cracking.

I make another fist at TaeKyung, and pretend to swing it. He sighs, scrunching up his face in disgust. Then, he speaks.

"Go MiNam…just…my room…Come stay in my room," he says slowly, as if each syllable would kill him. MiNam breaks out into a grin, and I let out a breath. Manager Ma snaps his fingers happily. President Ahn pouts, but shrugs.

"Fine, fine, punks," he says. "TaeKyung, you don't have to say it as if you were chewing poop."

I burst out into a fit of giggles. MiNam grins as well. TaeKyung glares at me, while Jeremy simply stares. ShinWoo smiles and shakes his head at me. MiNam's aunt just stares at me like I'm insane.

"We'll have fun together," TaeKyung mumbles. "If we go work out…go to the sauna…and scrub…each other's backs."

This only makes me giggle more. I heave over in my fit, and fall over the edge of the couch. TaeKyung rolls his eyes. MiNam starts to laugh as well, giving TaeKyung a thankful look, which he ignores.

"Yah, noona, what is so funny?" Jeremy asks.

I calm my fit of laughter to a bunch of heaving, loud breaths. Then, I sigh and smile at Jeremy.

"I'm fine," I say, and grin so wide my cheeks hurt. President Ahn gives me a strange look, before shrugging and heading towards the door.

"Whatever you say," he says and leaves. "I'll be going now."

"Bye, President Ahn!" I shout after him.

"Wah, she's _really_ happy, isn't she?" MiNam's aunt stares at me.

I giggle a bit more, but then sigh and stand.

"I'll be in my room if anyone needs me," I say and shut the door behind me. I poke my head out again, "Oh, btw, dinner's set. I'm not hungry."

I yawn, rubbing my eyes and setting my pencil down. I pull my reading glasses off and examine my new portrait. Every line, shade, and detail is almost perfect. Looking at it made me feel a bit stalker-ish, but it was my way to pass the time and relax. Drawing, and writing music that is. I close my sketchbook on the portrait of ShinWoo and stick it under my pillow. Then, I step outside into the hall and go upstairs, deciding to check on MiNam and stretch out my legs.

At the top of the stairs, I see ShinWoo in his blue cardigan and beige khakis. He doesn't smile. Instead, his lips form a taut grim line on his handsome face.

"Ah, oppa," I say, noticing him. He jumps, and I jump as he presses his index finger to my lips. I blink at him. He pulls his finger away and puts it to his own lips in a shushing motion. I clamp my mouth shut. He takes me by the hand and pulls me into his room. As he closes the door behind me, I finally open my mouth to speak, but he cuts me off.

"Don't ask," he simply says.

"I was just-"

"Aimee."

"Fine," I cross my arms over my chest and plop down on his bed. ShinWoo sighs, and shakes his head. I look at him from the corner of my eye as he walks over to his dresser. The bag with the shoes sits on top of it. He pulls out the shoes and looks at them.

"Are those for her?" I ask. He turns, blinks at me.

"Who?"

"I'm not stupid, oppa," I mutter.

"What?" he asks.

"Nothing," I sigh, and fall backwards onto his bed. He walks over and kicks me lightly in the leg. I look at him. "What?"

"You can't stay here, you know," he smirks slightly. "I'm a man. You're a woman. We can't be in the same room together like this for long."

"Pshh!" I wave an arm carelessly, but still, I get up. I head for the door. ShinWoo looks at me. I turn slightly and look at him. I want to say something, anything to him, but I don't. So instead, I smile weakly and walk back out and downstairs to the kitchen. I find Jeremy sitting at the counter, biting into an orange and staring off into space.

"Dongsaeng, what are you still doing in the kitchen?" I ask him. He simply throws me an apple. I wipe it off on my tank, and bite into it. The sweet crunchy flavor awakens my numbed taste buds. I sit down beside Jeremy and we both simply stare off into space.

"What are you thinking about?" Jeremy asks, never taking his eye off the space.

"I don't know," I say, though I know exactly. "What are _you _thinking about?"

"I don't know anymore," he mutters. I lay my head on his shoulder and sigh. He sighs as well. I bit my apple again. He bites his orange. I wonder what Jeremy is thinking. Is he thinking about some unrequited love, just like me? I'm not so sure. In a way, I feel like we're both idiots, but what can we do? We just sit there in the kitchen, eating our fruits and sighing to nothing.


	8. Chapter 8

I woke up the next morning, yawning. I wash up in my bathroom and pull my hair back into a loose ponytail and go upstairs to see who's awake.

I jump back as I see Manager Ma sitting on the steps and a taser sitting two feet in front of him. I blink a few moments, and then look up at Manager Ma. I point to the taser lying on the ground.

"Is that a taser?" I ask. Manager Ma immediately ran over and clamped a hand over my mouth. I push him off and whisper, "You gave this to MiNam didn't you?"

"Shh shh, Aimee!" he says loudly.

"I _am _shh-ing! You're the loud one!" I whisper harshly. He pauses a moment.

"Oh, yeah," he sighs, and lets me go. I pick up the taser.

"You didn't have to use this, you know," I give Manager Ma a look. "TaeKyung wouldn't touch any girl who doesn't want him to. He's not a total asshole."

"Excuse me, Aimee," he bows slightly. I roll my eyes and toss him the taser before heading back downstairs.

I find the table already set with multiple dishes of food. MiNam's aunt stands by the table, grinning happily at me. Jeremy is sleepily pouring himself some juice, while ShinWoo is sitting with a cup of tea.

"Aigoo! Pretty girl is awake!" MiNam's Aunt exclaims happily. I look from her, to the dishes.

"Ahjimma, you didn't have to cook. I would have cooked," I tell her. She shakes her head and smiles.

"Aigoo, our MiNam is finally back, so I must cook for him as his caretaker, you know!" she smiles happily. "Ah, I'm going to wake MiNam and Leader up."

She walks past me to the stairs, but as she passes, she gives me a nice pinch on my cheeks, calling me 'Pretty girl' again. I rub my red cheeks and sit down beside ShinWoo. He glances at me.

"Is it just me or is she a bit eager to be here?" I mutter. ShinWoo smiles slightly.

"She's just happy to see MiNam again after all these years, I'm sure," ShinWoo replies. Jeremy picks at the food on the table.

"And she's a great cook!"

"Better than me?" I tease. Jeremy simply grins in reply and stuffs another spoon of food into his mouth. ShinWoo shakes his head, but smiles nonetheless.

Manager Ma joined us, but refused to meet my gaze. He started to eat, so I grabbed a plate and ate as well. Jeremy was right. Her cooking was good. Though, I'd say, not as good as mine.

"Aigoo! Aigoo!" MiNam's aunt comes trailing down the stairs behind MiNam, who still looks half-asleep. MiNam sits down between me and Manager Ma and her aunt hands her a plate of food. She picks some rice up with her chopsticks, but doesn't eat it. I nudge her. She simply sits there. I stare at her a moment, then shrug and continue eating.

"Aigoo, Aigoo!" MiNam's aunt says again, handing Jeremy more food. He was gulfing it down like a mad man. MiNam's aunt smiles. "You're eating well. You'll get sick eating so fast, drink some water!"

Jeremy takes the glass of water from her, and gulps it down quickly before eating again. I look at MiNam's aunt. The table was awkward. MiNam simply sat. Jeremy was stuffing himself silly, and ShinWoo simply sat quietly as well.

"Ahjimma, you're cooking is exquisite," I compliment MiNam's aunt, trying to break the silence. She grins at me and reaches over, pinching my cheeks again. I immediately regret saying anything.

"Aigoo, thank you dear," she laughs. I force a smile, and rub my sore cheeks.

TaeKyung comes down the stairs, looking grumpy and pissed. I sigh. What's wrong with everyone this morning?

"Is our MiNam not hungry?" her aunt asks, shaking MiNam slightly on the shoulders. MiNam simply sits there. Her aunt sighs. I nudge MiNam, but she just sits there, holding the chopsticks in front of her face.

"Manager Ma," her aunt turns her attention to Manager Ma. "Eat before you come and let the kids eat! We're short on food as it is. I'll have to go shopping later."

"I'll go with you if you don't mind. I need to pick up a few things as well," I offer. She smiles at me and reaches to pinch my cheeks, but I dodge her hands and simply smile.

"Ah, Leader!" she exclaims as she sees TaeKyung. "Hurry and sit and eat."

"I don't eat breakfast," TaeKyung says simply, pouring himself a cup of water.

"Oh, in that case," she shoves TaeKyung's bowl to Manager Ma. "Manager Ma, you eat his share too. You work very hard."

I giggle. TaeKyung shoots me a glare, and I smile at him. He sighs, and looks at MiNam's aunt. She's busy scurrying around the kitchen for things.

"MiNam's aunt?" he calls. She looks up at him. "Since we will be living together for a bit, I have a few ground rules, so listen very carefully. Firstly, don't touch my whenever you plea-"

"Aigoo!" MiNam's aunt cut him off with a slap to his rear. All of us stopped eating and turned to look at TaeKyung's stunned face and MiNam's aunt's grinning one.

"Aigoo!" MiNam's aunt laughs. "Don't talk about 'ground rules' to an adult!"

TaeKyung stood silent and stunned. I honestly thought he'd drop dead just then. I glanced at Jeremy, who also seemed to be thinking the same thing I was. MiNam and Manager Ma simply blinked up at him. ShinWoo shook his head and sighed.

"Aigoo. I need to pee. Where's the bathroom?" MiNam's aunt scrambled off.

I started to chuckle again. I glance at ShinWoo, who was also smirking. Jeremy looked like he might choke. TaeKyung's hands shook as he placed his cup of water down. He turned and glared at us and we all turned away quickly, exchanging amused glances from beneath our bowls.

TaeKyung lingered another awkward moment before storming off. We all turned our heads and watched as he stomped away. I bursted out laughing as soon as he was out of earshot. Jeremy let out a long whistle.

"Did you see? Did you see that?" he rambled. "She just went and grabbed TaeKyung hyung on the-"

He mimicked MiNam's aunt grabbing TaeKyung's ass. I laughed, choking a bit on my rice. MiNam simply sighed. ShinWoo shook his head again, though he was still smirking.

"Auntie is really something else, huh?" Jeremy asked.

"Seems Hwang Tae Kyung has finally met his match," ShinWoo muttered, taking a sip of tea. I laughed again.

"I'd say," I grinned.

A sudden knock from the front door made us all stop laughing. I stood up and wiped my hands on my jeans.

"I'll get it," I said and walked out of the kitchen to the front door. I peeked out the little hole in the door and saw Nobu standing on the porch. He knocked again. I gasped and ran back into the kitchen, sliding right into the wall. Everyone, including MiNam's aunt, turned and looked at me. I scrambled to my feet.

"Are you okay, noona?" Jeremy asks. They all stare at me.

"Get the door. I am _not _here," I whisper and scramble for the back door. Everyone simply watches as I But as I yank it open, I let out a loud squeal as I bump into Nobu. He catches me by the waist, and smirks down at me.

"In a rush to go somewhere, sassy girl?" he asked tauntingly. I shove him away, but in doing so, land flat on my butt. ShinWoo. Jeremy, Manager Ma, MiNam, and her aunt poke their head out the kitchen and looks at us.

"Aigoo!" MiNam's aunt exclaims. "Who's this handsome young man?"

Nobu grins and shakes MiNam's aunt's hand.

"I'm Komatsu Nobu," he said. When she tilted her head at him strangely, he added, "I'm Japanese-Korean."

"Ahh! Are you Aimee's boyfriend then?" she asks, clasping her hands together. "Such a wonderful couple."

I glare at her, but she doesn't seem to notice. MiNam walks over and helps me off the ground. I smile at her.

"Thanks," I say to her.

"No problem, noona," she smiles back. Suddenly, she jumps, and shakes herself out a little. I look at her.

"Are you okay?" I ask her. She nods.

Suddenly, MiNam is grabbed by the shoulder and pushed aside. Nobu slings an arm around my shoulders and starts to drag me off.

"We're going out. See you all later!" he gives a mock salute to the others. I shove him off.

"I'm not going anywhere with you!"

"Sure, sassy girl," he picks me up off the ground, with which he was rewarded with a good smack on the head. He dropped me back on the ground, cursing under his breath. I jump to my feet and run back to the kitchen.

"Y-yah!"

I duck behind the counter as Nobu chases me. He slides around the counter, and I run behind Jeremy.

"Cut it out!" Manager Ma scolds. We ignore him. I laugh as I dodge Nobu again.

"Help me Oppa!" I shout, laughing as Nobu tries to catch me. I run behind ShinWoo, who puts his hands up as if in defense to Nobu. Nobu stops chasing me and looks as I grip childishly to ShinWoo's jacket.

"Nobu, she doesn't want to go with you," ShinWoo says, sighing.

"Yah, I came all the way here and she's not going with me!" Nobu faked a pout.

"I didn't ask you to come!" I shouted back at him.

"Y-yah! You rascal!" Nobu says, chasing after me again. I hold onto ShinWoo and try to dodge Nobu, but I pull on his jacket a bit too hard, and slip, nearly pulling him down with me. I land on my back, while ShinWoo manages to catch himself on his hands and knees right above me. Everyone freezes.

I blink up at ShinWoo, who also blinks back at me, a bit stunned. My cheeks burn, and my heart pounds against my chest. No one is laughing or joking anymore. Our eyes lock, and we stay like that a moment longer.

"H-hyung…noona…" Jeremy mutters, finally breaking the silence.

ShinWoo's eyes break away from mine, and I can't help but feel disappointed. He stands up, and gives me a hand. I take it, and he pulls me to my feet. I look at Nobu, who looks utterly pissed. I sigh and run my fingers through my long hair.

"Let me go get dressed," I say, smiling nervously.

I go to my room and look for something to wear. I pondered if I should dress like my old self, or if I should continue dressing with the new 'feminine' clothing I'd bought. I decided to just throw on my new clothes. A long strand of pearls; a pastel purple strapless, ruffled top; and some white jeans. Somehow, I felt I'd regret wearing _white _jeans, but they were so cute, I'd bought them anyway. I pulled my hair down, and decided just a bit of eyeliner and white shadow was enough for me.

I struggled into a pair of white satin heels as I stepped out of my room. I nearly fell again, but managed to keep my balance. I headed back towards the kitchen, but ducked behind the stairs as I saw MiNam and ShinWoo.

"Even though you were in the same room as TaeKyung, it was fine?" ShinWoo asked MiNam, who was gulping down a bottle of water. MiNam chuckled nervously.

"I did make one small mistake," she scratched her head. "But luckily I smoothed it over without him noticing anything. Aside from that, it was all fine."

ShinWoo stared at her a moment, then looked away. "It was all fine?"

He looked back at her and smiled his charming smile. "If it was that comfortable, maybe I should be relieved."

"Ah, and are you okay?" MiNam suddenly asked. "About yesterday…?"

"You mean when I got stood up by that woman?" he asked.

_What woman?_ I frown.

"Were you worrying about that?" ShinWoo asks.

"You seemed so upset and tired. I felt apologetic in her place," MiNam pouted. ShinWoo's face brightened, while my heart sunk more and more. Did he…tell MiNam he was stood up? And what was _I _then? Was I really that much of nothing to him?

"It's okay," ShinWoo laughs slightly. "I was upset because she was with another guy, but she doesn't really seem to think of him as a man so it's a relief."

I sink to the floor quietly and bring my knees to my chest. I let out a soft sigh. He wasn't talking about another woman. I knew. He was talking about MiNam. I balled my hands into fists. She was just standing there, being stupid and not even realizing it.

"For someone as cool as you, she'll definitely like you back," I head MiNam say. I could see the big grin on her face without even looking at her.

"That's right. I'm going to trust you on that," ShinWoo replied. "What you just said, don't forget it. No take backs either. Promise?"

I feel someone kick me in the leg. Looking up, I almost gasp as I see Nobu looking down at me. He must have seen and heard everything. He also would have seen me drop to my knees pathetically. I wanted to yell at him, but his face wasn't mocking or laughing at me. Instead, he seemed slightly sad and calm.

Putting his hands on my shoulders, he pulled me to my feet and we headed to the door. The last thing I heard from the kitchen was MiNam laughing and when I looked back, I saw her and ShinWoo's pinkies crossed, promising that ShinWoo would be liked back by the girl he loved. My heart hit rock bottom, and I balled my fists tighter.

* * *

I was silent as Nobu cam back down the stairs in the A.N. recording building.

"Sorry, I left some stuff there last week and I haven't been able to come get it yet," he said, sighing as he pulled his bag over his shoulder. He took my hand on his. I hardly noticed. I was still thinking about this morning. He stopped and looked at me.

"Aish," he cursed. "Wipe that depressed look off your face."

"Shut up," I muttered, pulling away from him. He kicked the ground, and put a hand on my shoulder, turning me to face him again.

"Look, I'm sorry. He's not worth it," Nobu said. I looked at him.

"What are you talking about?" I snap and head toward the entrance.

"_Yah_, your friends may be idiots, but don't take me for one. I can see you clearly like that ShinWoo guy," Nobu grabs me by the shoulder again. I shake him off.

"Leave me alone, Nobu," I sigh. I try to walk off again, but he grabs me by the shoulder again. He doesn't say anything though, and simply takes my hand in his, pulling me to the door.

As we get outside, the shouting and yelling of the fans is louder than usual. I wonder if the boys had come, but when I looked, I nearly gagged. It was Yoo He Yi.

Of course, I'd heard of the scandal that'd happened at the Music Festival about her and TaeKyung. I knew it wasn't true, of course, since TaeKyung would have told me. He _was _my best friend after all. Anyway, I'd had my own small run-ins with her before, and she was so sweet it was fake to me. Though, I couldn't say much about her. I'd never actually had a bad encounter with her. Her snide remarks and huffy attitude were all that had really come to bother me. But seeing her now, it was as if there was something even worse than usual.

"Ah, Aimee," she smiled her pretty smile at me. I force one back to her.

"HeYi," I say simply. She looks at my outfit.

"Oh, what's this?" I resist the urge to slap away her hand as she runs her hand over my pearl strands. "A new concept? It doesn't suit you."

"I think she looks great," Nobu suddenly says, scoffing at her. She looks at him.

"And who's this? Have you finally got a boyfriend, Aimee? How cute!" she smiles, but it immediately disappears. She huffs, and pushes past me into the building. I want to run after her and slap her, but Nobu pulls me off to his bike before I can even open my mouth.

* * *

We drive to a small mediocre bar on the other side of Seoul. I take my helmet off and climb off. Nobu steps off and I look at the small and slightly run-down building.

"What is this?" I ask.

"This is where I had my first gig," Nobu smirked at me.

"Oh, really?" I couldn't help but grin. I liked the look of this place, even if it was slightly dreary and dirty. I grabbed Nobu's arm. "Let's go in."

"We're going, we're going!" Nobu chuckled as I dragged him.

Inside, the walls were unpainted and slightly soppy with rain stains, but it looks kinda cool. There were black leather booths along the walls and a small but bright stage was near the back. The dance floor was big, with many lights, but no one was really dancing. It was too early to be clubbing. On one end of the wall was a long bar.

The whole place definitely did seem like a place where Nobu would be found. It wasn't anything like the elegant but lively clubs that I usually went to. I liked it.

The building was fairly full, though not crowded. Loud chatter was almost completely drowned out by the smooth jazz music that was being played on the stage.

Nobu noticed me looking around, and beamed proudly. He walked over to the stage, where the two jazz players had just finished their song.

"Hey, SeongMin!" Nobu called.

"_Yah_, hyungnim!" the tall, lanky guy with dark reddish-brown hair and multiple ear piercings called back to Nobu. The other guy, slightly shorter with shoulder-length black hair and an apathetic expression lit up as he saw Nobu.

"Ah, hyungnim," he called, his voice was smooth and deep.

"I see you're both still doing the lame jazz thing, eh?" Nobu chuckled.

"Don't be so harsh, hyungnim!" the tall one, SeongMin, said, scoffing. "You know we can't do a single rock gig without you singing our lead."

The shorter one smirked, nodding towards me, "And who is this? New girlfriend? She's not your type, hyungnim. Too pretty and sweet."

He looked me up and down with my outfit. I pouted. Maybe the new style _wasn't _working for me. I sulked inwardly, but flashed a grin to Nobu's friends. I was just about to tell them how I wasn't Nobu's girlfriend when Nobu interrupted me.

"Yeah, she's my new girlfriend," Nobu said. "And don't be too quick to judge her, Takumi. You'll get your butt kicked for sure."

Takumi, the short one, smirked. "Oh really? You must be a tough one, then, huh, noona?"

I wink at him, "Try me."

"Oo," SeongMin grinned. "I like her already."

SeongMin snickered. Takumi grinned. I pulled away from Nobu and put my hands on my hips. Takumi couldn't wipe the grin off his face. Nobu crossed his arms, examining me and Takumi with amusement.

"Yeah, _definitely _too pretty to be Nobu's type," Takumi commented. "He usually goes for girls that have more _substance_ to them."

I laughed at that. "Substance? I said try me, boy. Come on, try me."

"Can noona take a little drink, then? I'll buy," TaKumi smirked. "Shots."

I smirked back. He was dead now. None of these guys, Nobu included, knew how good a drinker I was. "You're on."

"This should be fun," SeongMin giggled. Nobu chuckled, shaking his head.

"I think I just dragged myself some trouble into here," he said.

"You betcha! Watch out though," I warned. "If I look like I'm gonna hurl, _duck._"

All three boys laughed. Takumi and I walked over to the bar, plopping down on a seat. Takumi pulled out a bill and told the bartender to send two shots down our way. I grabbed mine, and looked at Takumi.

"You're dead now," I tease, and down my shot.

Unfortunately for me, I discovered that Takumi was as stubborn as I was. I'd beat him in number of shots, but he'd insist on beating me. Before we knew it, I was ready to hurl after ten shots and Takumi had won with twelve.

"I'm done!" I groan, clutching my bubbling stomach.

"Victory, once again!" Takumi grinned, though he swayed a bit. I laughed at him, causing me to burp. Nobu and SeongMin were simply laughing their butts off at Takumi and I, who were so drunk we couldn't even stand correctly.

"I think I'm gonna hurl!" I cried. Nobu walked over to me and stood me up. He pointed me towards the bathroom and told me if I had to puke, to please do it in the bathroom and not in his bar.

After puking my guts out, I washed my face and hands. Looking in the mirror, I fixed my hair and pulled up my strapless top. I felt _much _more refreshed after being able to relieve myself of all that alcohol. I should go out and congratulate Takumi on beating me in, not alcohol consumption, but _stubbornness_. I had to laugh at us both.

Coming out of the bathroom, I was still slightly dizzy. I ran into a tall, older man. He grabbed me by the shoulder as I was about to fall over.

"Hey, you're really pretty," he said, inching his face towards mine. I groan. Why does trouble always find me when I'm drunk? I push him away.

"Fuck off!" l say, brushing my hair back from my face.

"_Yah, _bitch!" the man grabbed me again.

"Hey! Hands off!"

I look up, tilting my head at Nobu. Takumi and SeongMin were standing behind him. Takumi looked less drunk now as well, but was leaning on SeongMin for support. I looked at the old man.

"Hands off, he said," I spat at him and tried to pull away. The man didn't lay off.

"Make me," the man narrowed his eyes at Nobu. Nobu took a step towards the man, but SeongMin grabbed his arm. Takumi looked at the old man.

Flipping back his long hair, he said, "Don't make trouble here, YooBin. Just let her go. She's probably too naïve for your tastes anyways."

"Hey-!" I pout. The old man simply snickers.

"Shut up, Aimee," Nobu strode over and grabbed my arm, pulling me away from YooBin. I stumble as Nobu pulls me.

"Ow! Lay off!" I smack Nobu in the shoulder with my free arm.

"We're leaving," Nobu ignored me, talking to his friends.

"Ah, hyungnim, you can't go yet. You should at least perform one live song with us," SeongMin pleaded. Nobu shook his head.

"Takumi is drunk beyond playing. And I think we've caused enough trouble," he said. I jumped up and down, waving my arm around like a kid.

"Ooh ooh! Sing a song!" I grin like a fool. Nobu glares at me. SeongMin grins, nudging Nobu.

"Come on, hyung-nim! Sing a song for your lovely lady here," he smiled. Takumi grinned, flipping back his long hair.

"Come on," he said. "We can do a quick show."

Nobu seemed to think about it a moment. Then, he sighed.

"Fine. Just one song. For Aimee."

I let out a childish giggle as Nobu plops my drunk butt in a booth as he gets ready on stage. I clap my hands excitedly, and wonder what song Nobu will sing for me.

"Bring her a cup of water," Nobu tells one of the waitresses, gesturing to me. "It'll help to dilute the alcohol."


	9. Chapter 9

"Hey guys!" SeongMin said, waving his hands around, grinning at their small audience. They all shouted back to him. He put an arm around Nobu's shoulders. "This is our hyung-nim. He's been out a while, making it big in the world, but he's back tonight with his lovely lady here and we're going to sing a song for you guys!"

"And make sure to buy Nobu-hyung's album when it comes out! That's Ko-ma-tsu-No-bu!" Takumi shouted into the mic. The crowd cheered again. I smiled, gulping down my water.

"Here we go guys," Nobu smiles at the crowd. I stare at him. I was eager to see him sing. I'd never before seen him sing before and I wondered if he was really all that good. I snickered at my own evil-ish thoughts.

"1, 2, 3, go," Nobu said softly and SeongMin started on the guitar before Takumi started on the keyboard. Nobu had his own guitar strapped around his body, and began to play. I watched in awe as all three played together, and I almost melted as I heard Nobu sing. He was _amazing._

"Because I am stupid, I have no one besides you. You, who are looking at someone else. Don't you know how I feel?" Nobu sang. "There isn't me in your days, and not even having any remembrance…Me, who is looking at you who I am yearning for…Always shedding tears…"

I listened to the lyrics carefully. It was a beautiful song. The lyrics were touching. I didn't feel so drunk anymore as I listened and sipped my water carefully.

"In the days when I miss you very much; In the days when I suffered pain; 'I love you' is buzzing in my mouth. Crying for you; Alone yet again. Missing you; Alone yet again. Baby, I love you I'm waiting for you…"

The guys took their turns singing the lines, but all I saw was Nobu up there on the stage, standing confidently, holding and strumming his guitar, his soft voice carrying over the crowd, who all seemed to be just as mesmerized as I was.

"He's actually very good."

I look up at the sound of a familiar voice. I am surprised to see ShinWoo standing there. He smiles at me and sits down across from me in the booth. I sip at my water.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him.

"I came to get you," he said. "TaeKyung sent me."

"What for? How did you know I was here?"

He smirked. "I can always find you no matter where you are, Aimee."

I stared at him a moment, and turned back to look at Nobu. "But why did you come anyways? You have a reason?"

"Of course," he smiled, and I melted, completely forgetting about Nobu and his song. "Manager Ma is going to take us out for lunch. He's buying. He wanted you to come along, and we told him you were out, but TaeKyung insisted I come get you."

I scoffed. "Why can't he just come get me himself?"

Not that I mind spending extra time with ShinWoo oppa.

"You want to head out then?" ShinWoo asked, taking my arm and tugging me towards the door. I ponder a moment and look at the stage, where Nobu, SeongMin, and Takumi are finishing up their song.

"Let's wait for Nobu," I say. ShinWoo shoots me a strange look, but I smile innocently. I tug his arm to sit back down. "I know, I know. He's not the coolest guy ever, but he's really nice to me, Oppa."

"If that's what you call it," ShinWoo sighs, shaking his head. He sits back down. "But I don't want to stick around too long."

"Yeah," I smile at him. He looks to the stage. I keep my eyes locked on him. It seems like an eternity passed as Nobu finished his song and I sat there looking at ShinWoo, his hand holding my wrist. I was still looking at him when Nobu walks over to the table.

"What are you doing here?" Nobu looks at ShinWoo. He looks at ShinWoo's hand around my wrist, and ShinWoo pulls away. I blink up at Nobu, finally realizing that he was there.

"Nobu-"

He ignores me and continues to glare at ShinWoo.

"Get out of my club," he snarls. ShinWoo shoots me an 'I-Told-You-So' look and stands up, looking at Nobu. I'm afraid ShinWoo might actually decide to fight him back this time. But I'm more afraid that Nobu might actually attempt to hurt ShinWoo. He's looking even more pissed off than usual.

"Calm it, Nobu. I'm leaving. I just came to take Aimee back. TaeKyung's orders," ShinWoo replied. I can see the muscles in his jaw twitching. I know ShinWoo is getting angry, and I sigh, realizing this was getting bad. If Nobu is testing even someone with a temper as patient as ShinWoo's, then this is getting _really _bad.

I step in front of ShinWoo, pushing him back slightly.

"Stop it, Nobu."

"Get out of my way, Aimee," he sighs, frustrated.

"What's up, hyung-nim?"

SeongMin and Takumi walk over from the stage. They look at Nobu, then at me, and then at ShinWoo. SeongMin blinks at me. I realize I must look mighty guilty, hiding a mysterious guy behind my back who isn't Nobu, who they all think is my 'boyfriend'.

"Yah, what's going on?" Takumi asked.

I sigh, and take ShinWoo's arm.

"Let's just get out of here."

"You're not going anywhere, Aimee," SeongMin said, blocking me.

"Yah-" ShinWoo starts, but I nudge him.

"You think you can just run around with other guys while you're dating my hyung-nim? I don't think s-!"

"Let them go, SeongMin," Nobu says, and storms away. SeongMin glances at me briefly before taking off after him. Takumi looks at me, and shakes his head before walking off as well.

* * *

"You're truly insane if you were really considering bringing Nobu along," ShinWoo said in the car as we drove away from the club.

"_Mianhae, _oppa," I mutter, looking down at my hands in my laps. "He just seems to be completely different around me than around you guys.'

ShinWoo looks at me, and sighs. "You don't have to feel bad. I know why he's like that around you."

I look at him. He gives me a small smirk.

"Looks like Nobu has a crush on you, Jung Aimee," he replies. I blush.

"And I think you might just like him too," ShinWoo adds. I snap my head to look at him. He chuckles at my horrified expression. But he didn't understand. He thought I was embarrassed because it was true. It wasn't.

"Oppa, don't misunderstand," I sigh. My heart clenched, and I raked my hair back with my fingers, trying not to act like I was panicking.

"It's okay, Aimee," he said. He reaches over and squeezes my hand. "I know what it's like to be confused about loving someone."

He goes back to driving. I stare at him, but his thoughts are elsewhere now._ Go MiNam._ It hurt to say her name even in my mind, but it was the truth. I turned away from him and to the window.

"I'm not confused, oppa," I say softly.

"What was that?"

"You don't listen the way you used to anymore, ShinWoo oppa," I reply instead of answering his question. He's silent a moment. He knew it was true. ShinWoo sighed.

"Things are a bit crazy nowadays, Aimee. With MiNam and all. We have to make him feel comfortable with us. He can't be neglected," ShinWoo said.

_What an excuse. _I thought. _I think MiNam is as comfortable as she'll ever be._

We pull up in front of the restaurant, but I don't get out. I sit there, waiting. ShinWoo doesn't get out either. He looks t me. I blink away my tears. I wasn't going to cry. Not now, not ever. Not for something so stupid.

"You understand, don't you?" ShinWoo asks.

"You say that as if I'm a little child that just wants attention," I mutter. There's a brief silence, and then ShinWoo sighs.

"Maybe if you'd stop acting like a child…" ShinWoo doesn't finish his sentence. He lets it hang. We sit in the silence for a long time, before I finally reach over for the door handle. ShinWoo grabs my arm.

"Let go of my hand," I tell him, my voice shaking just slightly. "Right now, I'm just really hurt. And you don't understand. You've got other things to worry about. I'm sorry."

I pull away and his hand slips from mine. Part of me wanted him to hold on and tell me not to go yet, but he didn't. He just sat there, and slowly got out of the car as well. He walked in after I did.

"Ah, Aimee!" Manager Ma called to me. He sat across the table from MiNam, who was also smiling at me, thought it was only a slight smile. I look at them and walk over.

I must have still looked bitter and upset, because Manager Ma and MiNam's smiles dropped as they saw me.

"Y-yah, _Sunbae_, did something happen?" MiNam asked.

"Sunbae?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at her. She nods, and smiles.

"Sunbae," she nods again. I force a smile.

"Thank you, MiNam," I say. Tears sting my eyes again. How could it be that I hated her so much, but at the same time, I couldn't help but love her? I sat down beside her. She gulped down a glass of water, and stared off into space. Her grin faded, and she looked just as terrible as I felt. Her expression was completely glum.

"You look about as terrible as I feel," I put a hand on her head. She looks at me, and forces a smile.

"Noona is very kind to me," she said. "But I feel a bit sick. So I must drink a lot of water."

"You should eat first," I say, looking at her empty plate. "I'll go get one for you and me. Okay?"

MiNam nodded. I stood up and grabbed to plates from the buffet line. TaeKyung approached me, a grim look on his face as well. I glance at him briefly and grab some food for MiNam and I.

"Is everyone in a bad mood today or what?" I ask. He looks at me.

"Does everyone include you too?"

I shrug to answer his question. He knew me well enough to know this was a yes. He scrunches up his face again and grits his teeth. I nudge him.

"Stop it," I say. He shoots me a mild glare. "You'll grit your teeth to the nubs and then you won't be so handsome no more."

I smirk at him. He rolls his eyes. President Ahn pops in between us.

"She's right, you know, TaeKyung," he says. "You should consider that. It's not healthy."

"Whatever you say, President," TaeKyung mutters. He shoots me an accusing look. I simply smiled at him and blew a kiss, balancing my two plates with one hand.

When I got back to the table, I saw Jeremy standing beside MiNam. He handed her his plate of food.

"Here, MiNam. Eat this first," he offered. She simply stared at the plate. I pursed my lips. No, not Jeremy too. How could Jeremy possibly know about MiNam's secret?

"Jeremy," MiNam called after him as he stood up to get another plate of food for himself. "Guys like pretty girls, right?"

"What?" Jeremy asked, confused.

"Even you're like that, right?" MiNam asked. She seemed a bit blanked out. A bit…out of it. And she had that glum look on her face again. I frowned. What did she have to be so glum about? Suddenly, Jeremy startled me as he exclaimed a reply to MiNam.

"Of course!" he shouted. "I only like pretty girls! Face, body, really pretty girls! Isn't that obvious? It's not like I would actually like a guy like you!"

I blinked. Was Jeremy…being honestly mean to MiNam? I wanted to step in, but something stopped me. I gripped the plates in my hands tighter. I watched as Jeremy snatched his plate away from MiNam and scooted away to eat it.

I walked over to her slowly and set her plate in front of her.

"The stir-fry noodle is good," I suggest, and sit down across from her.

"Thank you, Sunbae," she muttered, staring down at her plate.

I pick at my own plate, not feeling very hungry. I stuff a spponful of rice in ym mouth, but I hardly taste it. I look over at MiNam. Reaching out, I stuck the spoon in her hand. I ruffled her bangs.

"Eat," I tell her, forcing at smile. She stared at me a moment, then began to pick at her food. When I turned around, I saw Jeremy staring at me. He walked over and suddenly grabbed my arm. He dragged me off into the hall.

"Yah! Dongsaeng! What's up?" I ask as he lets go of me.

"Do you like Go MiNam?" Jeremy asked. I blink, then as the question sinks in, I scoff at the ridicule.

"Yah, dongsaeng, it's nothing like that," I insist.

"Please don't lie to me, noona," Jeremy replied.

"Really! I'm telling the truth!" I raise my voice a little. "I don't like Go MiNam!"

"I just don't want you to…" Jeremy trailed off. "Get hurt."

"Dongsaeng," I actually laughed a little. "I'm just helping him out."

"Okay, noona," Jeremy sighed, and we walked back to our table.

* * *

"Hey, you know as well as I do that if she releases a single album, she'll need all the help she can promoting it," Manager Ma said to TaeKyung. I sit on the bench beside MiNam and kick at the grass. Why was I here? Simply because I knew MiNam's secret?

"How do you expect her to do it all on her own? It's not like you guys can't help her!" Manager Ma went on shouting at TaeKyung, who simply continued to roll his eyes.

"In this backward and messed-up situation you two have made of yourself, I'm drawing the final line. For both me _and _Aimee," TaeKyung finally replied as Manager Ma put his hands together and begged TaeKyung. I looked at him, but he kept his eyes on MiNam.

"You," he said. "Can you sing my song?"

MiNam blinked, looking unsure of herself. She stuttered, and TaeKyung cut her off with no chance to answer.

"If you can, stay," TaeKyung said. "If not, you'll leave immediately."

"Oppa," I sighed, but TaeKyung cut me off with a look.

"Let's go, Aimee. I won't let you get into this mess with them," he walked over and dragged me off by the arm. I looked back at MiNam, but she only looked at TaeKyung. I looked at him. His face was how it normally was. Solemn, grim, and grumpy. But there was something different now. A sort of…pain?

* * *

"Ah, Manager Ma," I called to him as I saw him coming down the hall in the recording studio building. He looked my way.

"Oh, Aimee," he said.

"Is MiNam okay?" I asked. He nodded.

"A little shaken up, but he'll be alright. Did you want to go in and see him?" Manager Ma asked.

"Yes, if that's okay. I'm really worried about him," I mutter. Manager Ma sighed and put a hand on my shoulder.

"I really have to thank you, Aimee. You've been a great help and support to him. He really sees you as a Sunbae and a noona," Manager Ma said with a smile. I smiled back and headed down the hall towards the room where MiNam and Manager Ma had been talking in just a couple of minutes ago.

"Are you nervous about having to go out on your own?"

I stopped as I heard ShinWoo's familiar voice. I lean in and peek through the small open crack of the door. ShinWoo stands across the table from MiNam. She looks up at him, smiling softly.

"Don't be nervous," ShinWoo assured her. "We'll be helping backup. And anyway, once you do it, it's really nothing."

"But it's work that makes people watch happy and laugh," MiNam sighed. "If I do things like that, I wonder if people will like it?"

ShinWoo leans on the table, smiling at MiNam. I shut my eyes, and look away a moment.

"There's one person that'll like whatever you do," he said. He pats his heart. "Right here."

I keep my eyes shut, and hold in a deep breath. When was the last time he'd said the same thing to me? I remembered everything. All of it.

_I sat alone in my room, sighing. It was a habit I'd come to doing. Whenever I stressed out, I just sat by myself and sighed. I never cried. I just sat there and felt sorry for myself. These legs, these stupid legs. I hated them. They disgusted me._

_A knock came from the door. I opened it, already knowing it was ShinWoo. He always seemed to know just the right time to come and talk to me. It was like he could hear the little alarm that went off in my heart every time, and he was there to rescue me._

_"Are you alright?" he asked._

_"No, I'm not," I huff and fall back onto my bed. I kicked my legs, but it hurt, so I stopped. ShinWoo looked at me a moment, then sat down beside me. He sighed, and said nothing for a while._

_"Are your legs bothering you again?"_

_"They always bother me," I reply, scoffing. "They hurt."_

_"You're just too tense," ShinWoo tried to smile, but I was having none of it._

_"I want to dance again," I suddenly say. ShinWoo doesn't reply. "But I'm afraid I won't be any good and that people won't like it."_

_"Now, what happened to the superwoman Aimee that doesn't care what anyone thinks or says about her?" ShinWoo teased. I smirked._

_"I guess I have a little bit of human left in me to be afraid," I simply replied._

_"I'm just joking," ShinWoo said. He sighed. "Do whatever you'd like. Follow your dreams."_

_I look at him. "Really? You think I can do it?"_

_"I told you you could walk again, didn't I?" ShinWoo smiled. "I believe you'll be able to dance."_

_"But what if I'm no good? I won't be as good as before and I can't sing right anymore. No one will know me or like me if I just dance," I sigh._

_"Well, there will always be one person that'll like anything you do and support you through everything," ShinWoo said. I looked at him. He put a fist over his heart and said, "That person is right in here."  
"No matter what, I'll always clap and compliment and smile for you," ShinWoo said, patting the place over his heart._

_"Yakusoku?" I asked. "You promise?"_

_He stuck his pinky out and nodded, "Yakusoku."_

_"Komawoyo," I smile at him as our pinkies intertwine. He smiles back, and stands up. He takes my hands and stands me upright as well. _

"_What are you doing?" I ask him, chuckling lightly._

_"If you want to dance again, why not start now?" ShinWoo smiled._

_I laughed, "Komawoyo, ShinWoo oppa, for helping me get through everything."_

* * *

"You're very warm, like the person who raised me, ShinWoo hyung," MiNam smiled at ShinWoo. She gasped, as if remembering something. "Is Myungdong Church very far from here?"

"Myungdong Church? Not far," he replied. "Why? Want me to take you?"

"A-ah, no," she stuttered. "You have been very comforting up until now. So thank you very much, ShinWoo hyung."

ShinWoo simply smiled at her words. I ducked behind a corner as MiNam came out the door. I hugged my arms around me tightly, willing myself not to cry. I peeked back into the room as MiNam left. ShinWoo stood alone in the big conference room, staring off into space, and thinking about Go MiNam. I turned from the door, and fled out and down the stairs.

As I got to my car, I yanked at the door handle. After the door didn't budge, I realized I had to unlock my doors. I rummaged through my purse, which I wasn't used to carrying, and cursed out loud as I couldn't find my keys in the clutter. Finally, I found them and yanked them out, causing the chain to snap open and all my keys fell to the floor. I cursed again, and scrambled to my knees to pick them up, not even caring that I was tearing my new chiffon skirt against the cement.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note:

Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews! =) Sorry if Aimee seems to be a Mary Sue! xDD My story is kinda developing very slowly…hahaha. I'll try to work on it! =) Thanks for all the support!

I drove back to the A. dorm, sighing. I'd scraped my knees against the cement, and they were really starting to irritate me. I practically bashed the door down on my way in and threw my keys on the table beside the little dish everyone else put their keys in. I changed into a pair of grey track shorts and pulled on a white beater.

Then, I grabbed the first-aid kit from the closet and pulled out the gauze and hydrogen peroxide, because rubbing alcohol makes me screech like a baby. After cleaning the scrapes, I bandaged my knees and sat, sighing. I remembered that night when ShinWoo had cleaned my scrapes and bruises. My fist tightened around the ball of dirty gauze and bandage wraps in my hand. I thought about how ShinWoo looked at MiNam and a black fury grew in my chest. I loudly slammed the first-aid kit shut and stood up, throwing it back in the closet.

Suddenly, I heard my SamSung Corby vibrate loudly on the living room table. I sighed and sprinted back to the living room to answer it.

"Hello?" I said into my phone.

"A-aimee!" Manager Ma "MiNam…she's…"

Manager Ma starts babbling on, making no sense. I'm getting really confused, so I try to tell him to slow down and stop a moment, but he isn't hearing me.

"Ma Hoon Yi!" I shout into the phone.

"W-what?!"

"What is going on with MiNam?" I ask slowly. "Tell me calmly now so I can understand you."

"MiNam left," he said.

"What?!" I almost shout into the phone. "She left, just like that?"

"Yeah! She just texted me!" Manager Ma sighed in frustration.

"Who else knows about this?" I ask.

"TaeKyung. He nearly ran me over when I told him. I don't know what he's up to, but I trust you more than I trust him, so I called you…" Manager Ma sighed. I nodded, even though he couldn't see me.

Suddenly, I remembered something from earlier.

_"Is Myungdong Church very far from here?" MiNam asked ShinWoo._

_"Myungdong Church? Not far," he replied. "Why? Want me to take you?_

"I think I know where she is, Manager Ma! I'll go find her," I told him.

"Aimee, you're an angel!" Manager Ma cried. I smirked and hung up. I went to my room to change. Now wasn't exactly the time to be picky about my clothes, but I'd gotten used to it. After pulling on a quick dark blue halter, grey skinnies, and a silver heart locket, I was good.

I climbed into my car and took off toward Myungdong.

_You can't leave just like this, Go MiNam. I won't let you._

Thinking about it made me angry. Was she just going to leave us all hanging like that? Especially Manager Ma and ShinWoo, after all they've done for her? I wasn't going to let it happen. I picked up my phone and dialed TaeKyung's number/

"TaeKyung?" I said as I heard him pick up. "Where are you?"

"You heard too?" he asked.

"Yeah," I muttered.

"I'm looking for her, so don't worry."

"I'm looking too. I think she may be at Myungdong church. Call her up just in case she's already left. Tell me if you find her," I said.

"Yeah," he replied and we hung up.

I pulled into Myungdong church. Hopefully, Go MiNam was here. But as I stepped in, I found it to be nearly empty, except for a few others who'd come to pray. I spotted a couple nuns standing around, and thought about asking them if they'd seen MiNam, but when I thought about it, if MiNam had run away, would she still be dressed as a girl, or as a boy? It was confusing. I cursed. MiNam wasn't here. At least not that I could see.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" a gentle nun asked from behind me. I bowed slightly to her in respect and shook my head.

"No, I was just leaving. Thank you," I replied, bowing again. But before I could leave, she took hold of my hand and stroked it softly.

"You are troubled, aren't you, child?" she asked me. I stared at her. She smiled, and touched my hair, patting my head slightly. "Everything will be alright. Everything will fall into place. Just trust yourself and be true."

Then, she hugged me. She patted my back as I stood there, dumbfounded.

"Are you in a hurry to leave?" she asked me.

"Well, I'm looking for someone who might have come here today. Maybe I'll wait to see if she returns," I said. The nun smiled at me and motioned for me to follow her to outside the church where the great statue was.

"When I saw you, you reminded me much of a young woman I brought up," the nun sighed, looking up at the statue. Then she smiled at me. "Maybe she's a little more timid, but you seem to shine just as she does."

"I don't understand," I simply say to her. She smiled.

* * *

Hwang TaeKyung pulled up to the curb with a loud screech. He opened the door and got out, slamming it behind him. He faced the girl on the street, feeling a mixture of strange betrayal and anger in his chest. He looked at Go MiNam, and cringed. It was odd seeing her like a girl. He shuddered.

"You…are you going like this?!" he snapped.

"What? Ah…yes," she replied nervously.

"Yah," he scoffed. "It's fine with me if you go, but how can you not say anything? Are you trying to leave me to explain everything to the President and the guys? And what about your aunt, huh?"

She simply blinked at him, dumbfounded.

"After explaining and clearing everything up, then you can leave!" TaeKyung shouted at her. She flinched. "You think you can leave by just ignoring it and disappearing?! You think I'm going to let you go like this?! Get in!"

TaeKyung snatched MiNam's bag and pointed to his car. She looked a him strangely, but climbed in anyways. Then, he walked over to the driver's side.

"Hyung-nim!" he looked at her. "Then…are you going to give me a ride?"

TaeKyung's face fell. He realized he _was _helping her out by giving her a ride. He wanted to decline, tell her to walk herself home, but he knew he couldn't do that. So he simply bit his lip, and nodded to her.

* * *

"You must've been just like a mother to her," I said to the nun, who told me to call her Mother Superior. She had been telling me the story of how she'd raised that young girl, Jemma, she called her, in the church to be a kind young woman, though rather clumsy.

"Mother Superior!"

We both turned, and saw a young girl with long brown hair and a black school uniform on running up to us. I gasped as I realized who it was.

"Mi….Mi…" I stuttered. It was extremely strange to see her as a girl. She blinked at me.

"A-aimee sunbae?" she said.

I sighed. MiNam looked to Mother Superior, who was smiling.

"This is my Jemma I told you about," she said, taking MiNam's hands softly.

"Oh, I see," I muttered. I nudged MiNam. "I need to talk to you a second."

"Look, noona," MiNam said once we'd pulled away from Mother Superior a bit. "I wasn't running away. I only came to see Mother Superior. She raised me. I was going to come back. It's all a misunderstanding."

"Then do the others know?" I ask. She nodded.

"Yes, TaeKyung dropped me off here. And I already called Manager Ma. Hyung-nim will pick me up later, so don't worry," she smiled and waved, running back to Mother Superior.

I sighed, and walked back to my car. Knowing she was okay was a relief. And still, I felt guilty about the little pang of disappointment in my chest. No. I wasn't disappointed. I was relieved. _Relieved._

I browsed through a rack of worn-out skinny jeans in one of my favorite American stores. I missed wearing my old style! I'd worn skirts and plain-colored clothes for so long now. I sighed, thinking about ShinWoo again. Why had I decided to change my style just for him? When had I become that kind of girl? Damn. I hated this. I grabbed a pair of light grey skinny jeans and threw them over my shoulder. Just then, my phone rang.

"_Yeobosayo_?" I sighed, answering.

"Sunbae, it's Go MiNam," MiNam said from the other line.

"Ah, yes?" I said, feeling my heart sink just a bit.

"Uhm...this is odd, but hyung-nim can't come get me right now," MiNam said unsurely.

"Do you want me to come get you?"

"Ah, no! That's okay. I can find my own way home. I just need to know where I can get some male clothes for my return home so I don't draw attention," she explained. I thought a moment.

"Is that so? Are you sure?"

"Yes, that's all," she replied. Just then, I got a great idea.

"Oh, MiNam! Are you still in Myungdong?" I asked.

"Yes, why?"

"Stay right where you are! I'm going to come find you!" I exclaimed, pulling off my skinny jeans with one hand.

"W-why?"

"While you're still dressed as a girl, we should embrace the moment, no? Let's go shopping together! It should be fun!" I suggested. She didn't answer. I pouted. "Oh, come on, MiNam!"

"Okay, I'll wait for you noona," she said finally. "I'm in one of the cosmetic shops on the furthest end of the street near the church."

* * *

Just as MiNam got off the phone with Aimee, her phone rang again. She looked at the caller ID. It was ShinWoo.

"ShinWoo hyung?" she answered.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm in Myungdong," she replied.

"Stay where you are," he said. "I'll come get you."

MiNam panicked. She was dressed as a girl! She quickly shook her head and refused his offer.

"No, that's okay! You don't need to come get me!" she replied, scrambling out of the cosmetics store she was in. She forgot completely about waiting for Aimee.

* * *

I sighed, frustrated as I held my phone up to my ear. Where in the world was Go Mi Nam? She wasn't in the cosmetic shop, or any of them for that matter. Had she left without telling me? God damn it. My mood was really starting to sour.

I called MiNam's number again, with no answer.

Frustrated, I shove my phone back in my poket and look around the street for any sight of MiNam in the Myungdong central.

I was so busy looking around that I hadn't realized someone walking right in front of me. I crashed into them, letting out a loud yelp.

"Watch it!" I shouted, scrambling back to my feet.

"Sorry!" the man yelled back sarcastically.

I got on my feet again and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a familiar figure. I knew him inside and out; back and front. I saw the long brown hair, the lean broad shoulders, and his elegant fingers as they held his white Samsung Corby to his ear.

But most of all, I recognized the girl in front og him, with her long brown hair and dark school uniform.

Go MiNam and Kang ShinWoo.

I watched as they went into a nearby ice xream shop. I watched from across the street as they sat in different boots. ShinWoo stared at her. He stared at her as I stared at her. He ate his ice cream, slowly, savoring it. I watched her eat hers, quickly and happily.

A deep knife drove into my chest and I cringed, looking away from them. And then, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed MiNam's number.

I watched through the window as she picked up her phone, stared at the caller ID a moment, and hesitate to answer.

"Yeobosayo?" she answers, a bit nervously.

I opened my mouth to say something to her, but found no voice. I shut my eyes and tried to get my voice back. I opened my mouth again, and tried to reply.

"Go MiNam?" I managed to spit out, my voice rasp.

"Sunbae? Are you alright? You sound sick?" MiNam said.

"I…I'm okay…" I choke out. I was losing my voice.

_Damn. Not again._

"Sunbae? Are you alright?"

"I'll talk…to you…later…alright?" I cough.

"S-sunbae, are you sure you're alright?" she asks, worried.

"Yeah," I whisper hoarsely and hang up. I head back to my car, kicking myself internally as I set off towards the dorms. What was I thinking?

As I get inside, I go straight to my room, slamming the door. I head for my dresser, sniffling, I pick up all my new clothes and dump them on the ground, throwing them everywhere.

_Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why did I think ever changing for him would make him like me? When did I become so stupid?_

I was emptying out the last drawer, my cell phone rang. I ignored it, but whoever it was kept calling me. The sound was annoying me, so I simply picked it up and chucked it across the room. It cracked, and fell to the ground.

_That was damn stupid of me…_

I let out a frustrated cry, falling to the ground against the wall. I don't cry. I never cry. Never. I refused to now. I bit my lip, and sat there in silence for a couple minutes. Then, I got up, sighed, and walked out the door of the dorms. I didn't know where I was going, I just didn't want to be here.

* * *

For some strange reason, I walked to the office. God knows why, but I did. The usual fangirls were outside, screaming. I walked past them. Most of them ignored me and stayed out of my way, which I was thankful for. I wasn't in the mood.

As I opened the glass door, the first thing I saw was a frenzy of flashes. Blinking, I looked again. A hoard of reporters gathered at the base of the steps, taking pictures of the above level. When I looked up, I could've gagged all over again.

TaeKyung and Yoo HeYi, kissing at the top of the stairs.

_What the hell?! When did this happen?!_

I grew angry all over again. First MiNam and ShinWoo, and now my best friend is making out with a devil and no one bothered to clue me in on anything? I was just about to storm off when I noticed something else.

Go MiNam stood behind the couple, not directly, but on the other side of the level. I could still see her clearly. She looked like she was about to burst into tears. It took me a moment to realize why.

Did she…_like_ Hwang TaeKyung?


	11. Chapter 11

No. No way. Go MiNam did _not _like Hwang TaeKyung…!

I stood fixed in my spot by the door, looking from the reporters to TaeKyung and HeYi to MiNam. I was really frustrated. What the hell was going on here?

Then, suddeny, my day was ruined all over again. As I looked at MiNam, I saw ShinWoo walk over to her and take her by the shoulders. He pulled her away from the scene, his arms gentle around her shoulders. I turned from the building as well, and walked my ass back home.

I took off running out of the building. This was too much in one day. I was going to go crazy. My heart felt like it was going to burst. I ran from the building in any direction. I didn't care where I was going anymore.

I didn't even care when I started to feel drops of rain on the back of my head. I just kept running. The rain came down harder and harder. I bit my lip, and kept running until my legs gave out beneath me and I slipped on the wet pavement.

"A-are you alright, miss?" a nearby man asked me, leaning over to help me up.

I rudely push his hand away, and leap to my feet, limping off. I scraped my knees again. But now, I was beyond the point of caring. I looked around me, wondering where I was. Thankfully, I knew the street. I limped my soaked self back to the dorms, though I knew I didn't want to be anywhere near the others right now.

As I got to the driveway, I heard lots of chattering and noise. The lights were all on. I walked to the door, peering inside.

Through the kitchen, I see a glimpse of the living room. MiNam, her aunt, and Jeremy jump around, grinning happily at TaeKyung, who is just standing there, looking like his usual grumpy self. I bite my lip. Are they…_celebrating?_

I scoff, trying to push down the little green flame of jealousy in me. But it couldn't be helped. So no one really did care whether I was gone or not? I bit my tongue, and turned away from the door, sitting on the steps. It was dark and still raining, but I didn't care. I simply sat on the stairs of the porch, looking off into space and thinking about my shitty day.

That's when I recalled what ShinWoo had said to me just the other day.

_"Maybe if you'd stop acting like a child…"_

I groaned. ShinWoo had been right. Why was everything always about me? I felt so selfish and stupid. I was being so immature. Why couldn't I be happy for everyone else, like Jeremy always tried to be? I was worse than TaeKyung. I was so stupid.

And even so, I couldn't bring myself to get up from the stairs. My head grew dizzy, and I started to get cold. My scraped knees ached, and my stomach clenched. I thought I might puke. I also started to feel tired. My eyelids grew heavy, and I starting to sleep in the cold, pouring rain.

* * *

"Congratulations, hyung, on your new relationship!" Jeremy cried.

TaeKyung flung his arms at the confetti, glaring at them all. What in the world were they celebrating about? He was in no relationship. He was in hell. With that _devil fairy. _He flinched, just thinking about her and her disgustingness. Sure, she was beautiful. She was gorgeous. He had to give her credit for that. But he wasn't a shallow man. Beauty wasn't everything.

"Leader, I prepared this for you!" MiNam's aunt cried, gesturing her arms to the table of elegant foods that she'd cooked. "Yeah!"

Manager Ma rolled his eyes. ShinWoo stood, smiling slightly at the others. Jeremy, MiNam, and her aunt all danced happily, clapping their hands and shouting.

"Congratulations! Congratulations!" they shouted, with a little bit of small input from ShinWoo.

TaeKyung gritted his teeth. What? Were _they_ the one in the 'happy relationship' or was he? God, what was wrong with these people. The cheering and clapping stopped abruptly as TaeKyung sent them all a death glare, especially MiNam. Why in the world was she congratulating him? It was all her fault he was stuck in this situation in the first place! Why had he even taken this for her…was it because he felt bad about her mother? No. No. He wasn't going to think of that... It took him another moment to realize someone was missing from their usually cheery group.

"Where's Aimee?" he asked suddenly.

"Ah….about that…I haven't seen her all day," Jeremy replied.

"She hasn't been around the house at all today, not that I know of at least," MiNam's aunt shrugs.

"Me either," ShinWoo simply says.

TaeKyung looked to Go MiNam, who bit her lip. He raised his eyebrow at her. Why was she biting her lip like that? Had something happened? TaeKyung had been so busy with all the bullshit today he hadn't even remembered to think of his best friend really at all. A part of him felt guilty. He'd been doing that a lot lately.

"Well, noona and I were supposed to go shopping earlier…but I didn't see her," MiNam said, smiling innocently. TaeKyung rolled his eyes at her, and took off to his bedroom without another word.

* * *

"Hey, nephew, have another glass!"

MiNam tried to ignore her aunt, who was shoving a shot of beer at her. She didn't want to drink. She just kept thinking about TaeKyung. Why did her heart hurt like this when she thought of him? And when he'd kissed HeYi, it'd been none of her business. So why did it make her feel so ultimately sad?

"Aigoo! Men in our family are strong drinkers!" her aunt kept pushing the shot at her. MiNam groaned, and looked away. "How are you so delicate?"

"Auntie, I believe I'm already drunk," she muttered quietly to her aunt. She did feel very dizzy already. And her chest was burning. Jeremy glanced at her, a worried look on his face. But it wasn't for her. It was because Jeremy had known what had happened last time MiNam had gotten drunk.

"Hey, Go MiNam, move!" Jeremy pushed her aside. "Auntie! I'll drink it!"

He pushed MiNam again. MiNam fell over the couch, and scurried away before Jeremy could sit on her. "You, move. Move. Give it to me, Auntie! I really like alcohol!"

"Ah? Okay, here you go, snail," she handed him the glass. He downed it.

"Ah, you know who would really like this?" ShinWoo suddenly said. "Aimee would have probably outdone us all in drinking."

"Oh, yeah!" Jeremy nodded.

"Aimee? Really? She's so delicate looking. Can she really take all that alcohol?" MiNam's aunt piped in. Jeremy and ShinWoo both nodded. MiNam simply groaned.

"She seems delicate, Auntie, but really, she's a crazy drinker!" Jeremy grinned. "Noona would make any man blush with shame when it comes to drinking!"

"Yah, but that's not very lady-like is it," MiNam's aunt grumbles.

ShinWoo chuckles, shaking his head. He looks at MiNam, who looks like she's about to puke herself. She got up, and stumbled off outside to the porch.

MiNam slapped herself on the cheeks, wishing the dizziness and warmth in her face would go away. She sighed. It wasn't. She was completely drunk. Thank God she could at least still keep to her senses this time, though. She shifted on the porch. It was slightly damp from all the rain from a while ago, but it'd mostly stopped raining now.

"Go MiNam!"

She jumped, startled. Turning, she saw Jeremy. A little panic rose in her chest. What now? Was he going to do something again? She wasn't in the state to play.

"Do you like that person?" he asked, suddenly. MiNam blinked at him.

"Eh?" she replied.

"Are you upset because you liked that person?" Jeremy reworded the question.

MiNam panicked. Did Jeremy know?! How?!

"Ah…I'm just a fan! Nothing special!" she quickly replied with what ShinWoo had told her. That's right. Just a fan. Nothing special…nothing at all.

"It's not wrong to like someone," Jeremy simply replied, shrugging. He handed her a book. "Take this."

MiNam took the book, slowly inspecting the cover.

"It's written by one of my favorite drama writers. It says, 'People who do not love are guilty.' So then, people who love, no matter who they love, are guiltless."

"Then am I really not committing a wrong?" MiNam asked him.

"That's right. What's wrong with liking someone?" Jeremy sighed.

"Thank you for telling me this, Jeremy," she bowed slightly. She was really very thankful. It was something she'd needed to hear at this kind of time. It made her feel less bad and made her a bit happier. She turned, clutching Jeremy's book to her chest, and started to walk off.

"Noona!"

MiNam turned as she suddenly heard Jeremy scream. She saw Jeremy rush to the bottom of the porch stairs. MiNam rushed over to the top of the stairs, and looked down as Jeremy picked a dark, soaking figure from the ground. MiNam looked.

"Aimee noona!" she cried.

ShinWoo, TaeKyung, and MiNam's aunt all rushed from the house.

"Aimee!" TaeKyung ran over to Jeremy and took Aimee from his arms. "Aimee!"

We all rushed inside behind TaeKyung, who set Aimee down in her bedroom. ShinWoo sat on the bed by her side as TaeKyung ran out a moment. ShinWoo touched Aimee's forehead tenderly.

"Aigoo! Aigoo! What's happened?!" MiNam's Aunt exclaimed.

"She's burning up," ShinWoo said as TaeKyung came back in, holding a cold bottle of water and a cloth.

"Yeah, she's got a fever," he grumbled. "She must've been in the rain. What an idiot. How stupid can you be…?"

"Hyung, shouldn't we take her to the hospital?" Jeremy asked, worried.

TaeKyung didn't reply. He opened the water and poured it onto the cloth, not even caring that he was spilling it allover the floor. His heart was pounding. God, he hoped Aimee was alright…He placed the cold cloth over her forehead, moving her hair aside from her face gently.

He turned, glaring at MiNam, who was simply staring at him.

"Get out of my way!" he snapped, picking Aimee up from the bed and shoving past them all. What the hell were they thinking?! Why wasn't anyone taking care of Aimee? What was she doing in the rain? Was she stupid, or just insane? He carried her out to the car.

"I'll go with you, TaeKyung," ShinWoo suddenly said from behind him.

TaeKyung hesitated a moment, but then, he nodded. ShinWoo got in the back of the car, and TaeKyung handed Aimee to him. ShinWoo propped her up against his chest, his arm around her.

TaeKyung climbed into the driver seat, gritting his teeth.

* * *

"She's fine," the doctor smiled at TaeKyung and ShinWoo. "She's just exhausted and slightly feverish from the rain. Stress may also be a factor. She'll be alright with some rest and food."

TaeKyung and ShinWoo thanked the doctor and went inside to see Aimee. They'd changed her into a white hospital gown and laid her underneath the covers. TaeKyung stared at her from the foot of her hospital bed. God…she was an idiot. Why was she in the rain? And what stress had she been enduring? Aimee had never done anything that she hadn't told TaeKyung about. At least, not that he knew of. Seeing her in the hospital bed only made his guilt of being preoccupied with MiNam even worse. He sunk his head into his neck and gritted his teeth.

He remained silent as he watched ShinWoo walk over to Aimee's bedside and stroke her hair. He sighed, and made his way to walk over to her as well when his cell phone suddenly rang. ShinWoo looked up at him. TaeKyung grunted, and picked up his cell phone.

"Yah! TaeKyung!"

It was Nobu.

"What is it?" TaeKyung replied grumpily.

"Where's Aimee?"

"Why are you calling so late at night, Nobu?" TaeKyung snapped.

"I'm at your house! Where's Aimee? Is she alright?" he asked, demanding.

"She'll be fine. Stop worrying and go home," TaeKyung tried to keep his temper in check. It was hard though. Just hearing Nobu's voice really irritated TaeKyung. He didn't know why, but when he thought of Nobu, he thought of Yoo HeYi. And the thought of Yoo HeYi made him shudder as if a million bugs were crawling over his skin.

"Are you guys at the hospital?" Nobu asks, instead of replying to TaeKyung.

"That wasn't a suggestion, Nobu. _Go home._ No one needs you around here, so just go quietly," TaeKyung snapped.

"I'll let Aimee judge that," Nobu replied quickly before hanging up.

"God, I really hate that guy," TaeKyung shouted, clicking his phone off.

"You're not alone in that," ShinWoo sighed, shaking his head.

"I'll go meet him outside. Stay with Aimee. I don't want him to be causing more trouble than needed," TaeKyung grumbled, and left the room. ShinWoo sighed, and looked back down at Aimee. He reached to stroke her head again, but was caught off guard as she reached up and grabbed his hand.

"Stop touching me," she mumbled, though she laced her fingers with his and held his hand by her head.

"Are you awake?" he asked, not being able to help but grin.

"No," she replied.

ShinWoo had to chuckle, "Didn't you hear about Nobu?"

"Whatever. I don't want to see him right now," Aimee sighed, squeezing ShinWoo's hand. Her eyes fluttered open slightly and she looked up at ShinWoo. She didn't say anything though for a long moment.

"So," she said finally.

"So?" he replied.

"You…got stood up that day when you wanted to go the amusement park?" she asked, looking at him. Despite himself, ShinWoo's face reddened. Perhaps he shouldn't have told MiNam that. It wasn't a complete lie, but…

"If you didn't want to go with me you could've just said so, you know," she shrugged, and let go of ShinWoo's hand. She turned over in the bed, facing her back to him. He didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything for a long moment.

"I'm sorry, Aimee," he said finally.

"Yeah," she muttered back.

Then, she looked back at him over her shoulder. She smiled. Reaching over, she nudged him in the arm with her pointer finger.

"Stop pouting, I'm supposed to be the one who's sad," she pouted playfully at him. He smirked. Aimee didn't want him to feel bad, but he could tell she was feeling terrible. He sighed.

"What were you doing in the rain, Aimee?" he asked her.

She was silent a long moment. Then, she shrugged.

"That's not an answer, Aimee," ShinWoo said. A little bit of annoyance pricked at him. He calmed himself, and tried to stay patient. Instead of answering him though, Aimee buried her face in her pillow and ignored him.

"Aimee," he said, his voice raising a little. "Just tell me-"

He was cut off as Aimee reached over to him and put a finger to his lips.

"Just be quiet, Kang ShinWoo," she said softly, turning her face out of the pillow slightly so she could speak. He shut his mouth then. She smiled softly to herself and her finger fell from his lips. She pulled the blanket up over her shoulders and closed her eyes, going back to sleep.

ShinWoo stared at her a long moment. It was strange. She'd never touched him like that before. A brush on the arm, grabbing his hand, but never had she touched his face like that. And for some reason, his chest tightened. ShinWoo reached up, touching his lips as he stared at Aimee. Then, he shook his head and smiled to himself.

* * *

My heart raced as I pulled my finger away from ShinWoo's soft lips. I almost shuddered. When had I been so bold as to do something like that? I immediately shut my eyes and pretended to go back to sleep. Even still, I couldn't help the small smile that creeped over my lips. I could still feel ShinWoo's fingers laced between mine and it was a very peaceful feeling. Him, in this hospital room with me while I slept. Silent. Calm…

"Aimee!"

_So much for silent and calm._

"I'm not awake," I mutter quietly to ShinWoo, my eyes still closed.

"Aimee! Are you alright?"

I try to ignore Aimee.

"Nobu, she's exhausted. Let her sleep," ShinWoo said.

Nobu ignored him. Opening my eyes just a peek, I see Nobu give ShinWoo a clear and hard shove. ShinWoo stumbled back slightly, his hands balled into fists. I realize that if I don't confront Nobu now, he was going to try to fight ShinWoo again.

"How can you find the face to even come here after what happened at the club?" I ask, my tone angry as I sit up slowly in bed. My head throbbed a little, but it was bearable. I glared at Nobu, who was simply looking at me.

"I came to apologize about that night," Nobu replied plainly, sticking his hands in the pockets of his studded jeans. I nod towards ShinWoo.

"You should be apologizing to him, not me," I tell Nobu. ShinWoo says nothing; simply glares at Nobu. Nobu glares at me. I know he doesn't want to apologize to ShinWoo in the least bit.

"You want it to be that way?" Nobu muttered.

"Yes," I say, keeping my tone strong. "Apologize to ShinWoo or get out. And don't come back. That's the way I want it."

Nobu grits his teeth, "So if I don't apologize, I'm out of your life forever right?"

"That's right, Nobu," I say, sticking my chin out. "I'll cancel our contract. It's still doable, you know?"

Nobu scoffs at me and gives me a look as if I'm ridiculous. I'm convinced he's going to walk out then and there. What man would give up his pride to apologize to another man like that? Especially a man with a pride as big as Nobu's. I'd be relieved if he left. I wouldn't need to deal with him anymore.

But both me and ShinWoo are surprised when Nobu suddenly turns and bows low at the wait to ShinWoo.

"I'm sorry for my behavior today and the other day. I apologize for the way I have been acting. I'm sorry, ShinWoo-hyung," he says.

I almost choke on my own saliva.

"_Hyung_?" ShinWoo asks slowly.

"Hyung," Nobu nods, his face stern. He turns to me and walks over to my side of the bed. He takes me hand and kneels so he is at eye-level with me. I blink at him and almost pull my hand away.

"Please allow me to stay in your life, Jung Aimee," he says.

I'm so shocked that my jaw drops. I look at ShinWoo from behind Nobu. ShinWoo simply stares at me, saying nothing. I don't know what to say either. Not to Nobu, not to anyone. Was he being serious?


	12. Chapter 12

"Please allow me to stay in your life, Jung Aimee."

Nobu looks up at me expectantly. I swallow, and glance at ShinWoo.

"I'm being sincere, Aimee," Nobu insists.

"Nobu, stand up," I sigh.

"I'm being sincere," he continues. "Please allow me to stay in your life."

I sigh. I'm going to have to answer him. If I don't, Nobu will never get up. He continued to kneel and ask for an answer. And I know if anyone tries to remove him, he'll throw a fit. I look at him, and shrug.

"How can I push you away now that you've gotten down on your knees to beg me to let you stay?" I say, slightly sarcastic. He blinks at me. I force a grin to show that I too, and being sincere. He smirks, standing.

"Don't be too happy, Jung Aimee," he taps the tip of my nose with his pointer finger, which makes me jump. I glance at ShinWoo behind Nobu. He shrugs. Nobu sighs and stretches his arms.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I've got an appointment to go to. See you later," he flashes a grin and leaves. I roll my eyes. He's just embarrassed. I knew. ShinWoo shook his head as well. When Nobu left, I looked to ShinWoo again.

"Hey, when did the doctor say I can leave?" I ask.

"You can go home any time, I believe. Why? Want to head back?" ShinWoo asked. I nod.

"Yes, please," I smile.

* * *

"Yah! Not another one!" I chuck the magazine across the living room, nearly hitting TaeKyung in the face. "Can't you keep your lovey dovey pictures _away_ from paparazzi?!"

"Yah, don't throw things, monkey," TaeKyung grumbled.

I stuck my tongue out at him. ShinWoo shook his head, and Jeremy giggled, flipping through the catalog and looking at the pictures of Yoo HeYi and TaeKyung. He enjoyed seeing the pictures.

"Hyung, you're all over the front pages of all the magazines!" he said.

"Don't encourage him, Jeremy," ShinWoo said plainly.

TaeKyung gritted his teeth in frustration. He didn't appreciate the teasing about his relationship. And maybe, we should have stopped, but I seriously didn't understand it. After going to the hospital, it seemed TaeKyung tried to talk to me, but every chance we got to talk, he'd be snatched away by HeYi. It was really very annoying. And so, it seemed my best friend was drifting even further and further away from me.

I'd also been noticing Go MiNam more. It seemed she was always looking at TaeKyung, sighing or simply gawking. I'd look at ShinWoo and see him doing the same, only to MiNam. It caused a bit of irritation. Was I the only one not in on the joke?

I sighed. I had my hands a bit full anyways. It seemed Nobu was stalking me. He really liked me or something. A bit like HeYi, he seemed to snatch me away from the guys whenever he could. It was just as annoying as HeYi. Perhaps I should've told him off in the hospital? Aish. But I couldn't. He just seemed so honest and sincere. I hadn't the heart to turn him down when I saw him like that, but now, back to his old self, he was annoying and arrogant again. However, he seemed to treat the other guys with more respect, so I was at least grateful for that.

"Ah crap," TaeKyung glanced at his watch.

"What now?" I looked up at him.

"I've go to get going or that devil fairy will never let me off," TaeKyung shook his head and groaned. _Yoo HeYi _again. That's what he called her. Devil Fair. Appropriate name, if you ask me. Not very romantic, but appropriate.

"Ah, yes! Today is Yoo HeYi's premiere for her new movie, 'Sweet Kiss'!" Jeremy announced. I sunk into my chair.

"Hyung, can we come with you?" Jeremy asked brightly.

ShinWoo, MiNam, and I all exchanged glances. We didn't really want to go. And we were sure TaeKyung didn't want us tagging along to his sweet new girlfriend's movie premiere.

"Sure, come on then. We need to get ready," TaeKyung suddenly said.

"What?!" I complained in MiNam's place.

"If you don't want to come, don't," TaeKyung shot me a look. I frowned.

"We should go, Aimee noona," MiNam suddenly said. "We should cheer on whatever makes TaeKyung happy. And that means to congratulate Yoo HeYi."

I stare at her. She nods, insistently.

"Come on, noona. It's not a complete family without you!" Jeremy puts his arms on my shoulders. I sigh, and then nod, throwing my arms up.

"Alright1"

* * *

I tug at my cream colored dress, which was gathered down the center-line of my body to create a perfect silhouette and slim my hips. I'd paired it with a pair of white stilettos and pearls. It felt strange, going out in public like this, but whatever. It was my new _concept_. I walked between ShinWoo and MiNam, purposely.

"Ah! There is Hwang TaeKyung now!"

Reporters crowd around us as we come up the carpet. There is a flurry of questions and lights flashing.

"You even brought your band mates to cheer on your girlfriend?" a reporter asks.

"Yes," TaeKyung replies quietly. MiNam glances at him from his side.

"In Yoo HeYi's new movie, there is a kiss scene. As a boyfriend, are you jealous?" the reporter asks. I look at TaeKyung. He looks irritated and frustrated.

"No, I'm not," TaeKyung replies simply.

"Ah, you take it as being only a part of work! So thoughtful," the reporter replies.

Suddenly, I get a microphone shoved into my face.

"And who are you?"

"Jung Aimee," I reply. "I'm A.'s dance choreographer."

"Ah! You are also his childhood friend, no?"

I glance at the other guys. "Yes, I am."

"What do you think about his new relationship?"

I don't want to be rude. So I reply, "I am happy for him if he's happy. There's not much else I can say, since their relationship isn't my business."

"Ah, that's very nice. What about yourself? Are you not the rumored girlfriend of Komatsu Nobu, a new debut artist?" the reporter asks.

"We're just coworkers," I reply, forcing a smile. _God damn, Nobu._

* * *

I yawn loudly, trying to keep my head up. HeYi's movie was good, but seeing her face was giving me a headache, and it was making me sleepy. Suddenly, Manager Ma reaches over me and taps MiNam on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, Aimee," he says, and MiNam and him both stand up and leave the theater. ShinWoo, who is sitting on another side of me, gets up as well. I grab him by the arm. He looks back at me.

"Where are you guys going?" I ask, hushed.

"I'm seeing MiNam off," he replied and walks off.

"What?" I ask Jeremy. He leans over.

"It's his father's death anniversary. He's going out to his grave," Jeremy replied.

"All by himself?" I ask.

"Manage Ma is going with him."

I stand up from my seat and head out as well. Was I the only one who didn't know this? God damn! Why doesn't anyone tell me anything anymore?! Especially MiNam and Manager Ma! God.

"I am a bit nervous because it is my first time going back to my hometown," MiNam says, from down the hall. I peek over. She's talking to ShinWoo. I couldn't help but feel like a stalker, always spying on these two, but it couldn't be helped.

"If it's a good place, take me with you next time," ShinWoo smiles at her.

"ShinWoo hyung wants to go too?" MiNam asks. ShinWoo leans in close to her. She leans back, blinking. I bite my lip.

"It's because I want to 'catch dogs' with you more," he smirks. My gut dropped. I knew that joke. It was _our _inside joke. The one about how he tried to ask a girl out, and accidentally said something wrong in a different dialect. It was our inside joke. Me and ShinWoo. He…told MiNam?

ShinWoo ruffled MiNam's hair. She grinned at him nervously. I came out from my hiding spot and turned to them.

"MiNam?" I called, forcing a bright smile and casual tone.

"Ah, noona!" MiNam seemed relieved to be away from ShinWoo.

"Yah, you could've told noona that you were leaving. Why didn't you?" I glance at ShinWoo from over MiNam's shoulder. He says nothing, simply shoots me a quick look and then looks away.

"Mianhae, noona," MiNam smiles nervously.

"Anyway, have a good time. Be safe," I smack her playfully on the arm. She nods, rubbing her arm. God, she was so delicate. What, was she like an angel cake or something? I resist the urge to roll my eyes. MiNam is my friend. MiNam is my friend…

* * *

As Jeremy, ShinWoo, and I leave to the A.N. van, we realize that TaeKyung is missing. I assume he was with his girlfriend, maybe sucking face somewhere. The thought made me shudder.

As we climb into the van, I jump as I see Manager Ma in the backseat.

"Yah! Where's TaeKyung? Aren't you supposed to be with MiNam?" I ask him. He shrugs. Jeremy, ShinWoo, and I exchange looks.

"TaeKyung took her instead of me. They wanted to work on their new song anyways and TaeKyung said he needed a break from all the publicity of the city," Manager Ma replied.

ShinWoo, Jeremy, and I exchange looks again. Jeremy shrugs, but I remain slightly worried. What was TaeKyung doing? Eh. Whatever…it was his business. But then again, as his best friend, since when was his business not my business? I pouted, and played with the ends of my hair.

* * *

I lay on my stomach on my bed, my laptop in front of me. I lick my dry lips as I read over the information for the flight. A knock at my door sounds. I look up.

"Come in!"

ShinWoo pokes his head inside. He gave me a slight smile. I smiled brightly up at him. He sits down beside me on the bed, but doesn't peer at my computer screen.

"You're just the person I wanted to see," I tell him.

"Really? Why?" he asked. I turn my laptop screen to face him. He reads it over.

"Yeosu? Your hometown?" he asked. "What does that have to do with me?"

"I figured MiNam is taking a few days off to go to her hometown. I wanted to go back to visit mine too. I don't want to go by myself," I shrug. I'm reconsidering asking him to go with me now. What if everything with my family turns out bad? That'd be embarrassing. But I wanted to spend time with ShinWoo oppa…

"It's your hometown. You can't go alone?" ShinWoo asked.

I bite my lip. I shrug, "It's complicated."

There's a long awkward silence.

"Anyway!" I announce. "I never get to spend time with you anymore, oppa. We could ask Jeremy to go too! But that might cause a lot of attention…"

"No. We can just go," he says. I grin.

"So you'll go with me?"

"I suppose."

"Yay!" I shout, and roll over in my bed, giggling. He chuckles.

"You're so American," he joked, even though it was true.

"Hey, I spent a lot of time in Los Angeles, you know!" I said, pointing my finger like a gun to him and pretending to shoot. He smirked. I grinned. It was true. During my college years, I'd gone to Los Angeles once without TaeKyung and stayed with a host family. My English was good.

"_You're the best!_" I say in English to ShinWoo. He grins.

"I know," he replies in Korean. I laugh. He knew basic English.

"Flight is tomorrow afternoon. Better pack up!" I smile, and reach over to touch my pointer finger to his nose. He touches his nose, and smiles softly. Then, almost hesitantly, he reaches over and brushes my nose with his finger as well. I smile softly, content. Then, he turned and headed out of my room.

My cell phone rings. I look at the caller ID and see it's Nobu. I groan, and ignore the call, plopping down on my bed. I'm so giddy and excited that I want to scream, but I don't, because I'm sure ShinWoo can still hear me. So instead, I giggle to myself and hug my pillows like a kid. Reaching over to the laptop, I purchase two seats on the flight.

* * *

I slouch on one of the leather seats outside my flight and tap my foot to my music. I'm listening to Super Junior, my favorite band- next to A., of course! 'Why I Like You' pulses in my head, and I bop my head to the music. I look to my side, and see ShinWoo sitting silently, his head slightly low and his eyes closed. He's sleeping. I smirk, and pull out my sketchbook and a fine-tipped pencil. I start to sketch. I hadn't drawn for a while. But now, I started to sketch him from his head to his shoulders.

'Like A Bullet' by Baek Ji Young starts to play in my ears, and I automatically slip into a melancholy mood. This song was extremely sad. I listen to it's lyrics a moment, stopping my sketching.

"_In my pierced heart our memories are flowing…Even though I try to retain them and block my heart, they fall through the space between my fingers. Even if my heart stopped, I don't think it would hurt like this_," sang Baek Ji Young. I frowned, and pressed 'skip'.

"Somethin', somethin' as simple as me hearin' your name /Puts me, puts me in a place that i can't even explain/I ain't never been here before/I really didn't know back then but right now I'm totally sure/Baby, I know I'm your friend but I wanna be much more…"

I smiled a little. I remembered this song. _I wish you loved me_ by Tynisha Keli. As I listened to the words, I sketched ShinWoo. From his dark shaggy hair to his long nose, to his lips, to his chin, and even the hand he was using to prop his head upright as he slept. I drew every detail of his face to the best of my ability while listening to the song.  
"How can someone make me so sad, but still I only want them to stay  
I wanna say I love you so bad, but I don't wanna scare you away…Please, I wish that you'll understand that I wanna be more than just your friend. I wish you loved me…" I heard her voice sing. My heart tightens and I look up at ShinWoo.

"If you really love somebody, I mean really really really, really love somebody  
Let me hear you say yeah. Let me hear you say yeah, yeah…"

I look at ShinWoo. I open my mouth, as if to utter the words myself, but I hesitate a moment. Would he hear me? I'm a coward…trying to tell him my feelings while he's _asleep._ I kick myself internally and look away from him. I glance down at my drawing. I have the sudden urge to tear it apart, but I don't. I look back up at ShinWoo.

"I lo-"

I stop dead as I see him twitch. His eyes flutter open, and he looks at me. I turn red. He blinks.

"Why are you so red?" he asks.

I glare at him and turn away, trying to hide my red face. I feel embarrassed beyond consolation. I'm a crazy, stupid, whacko. What was I thinking, saying 'I love you' in a place like this?

"Jung Aimee, why are you blushing so?" he asks.

"Nothing, oppa!"

"Liar."

I stick my tongue out at him and close my sketchbook. I stick it back in my bag and stand up, straightening my skirt. ShinWoo scoffs slightly at my childishness. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him turn away slightly and close his eyes again.

"_All passengers on the flight to Yeosu please board now_."

I nudge ShinWoo. He gets up slowly and grabs his bags. I grab my bag and haul it to the plane, having not the single bit of courage to turn around and face ShinWoo even though he hadn't heard a breath of what I'd started to say.

* * *

I look around the streets, looking at the vendors lined along the cool pier. I hold onto my white straw sunhat so that it doesn't fly away in the wind. Smoothing out my black skinny jeans, I looked back at ShinWoo, who's browsing by much slower than me.

"Come on, ShinWoo oppa!" I wave an arm. He smiles, and quickens his pace, but only by a bit. I was alongside him. Peering up, I love the way he looks in his fake, thick, white-rimmed glasses. It's a little windy, but he wears a simple white button-up with a thin gray suit jacket and black jeans. No tie, though.

Something catches me eye then. I rush away from ShinWoo's side and run over to the small jewelry stand. I look at the elaborate seashells and glass beads that are woven onto thick hemp strands. I look at the vendor, pointing to a beige hemp bracelet woven with not much but two blocks of some kind of thick white material.

"What is this?" I ask.

"Ah, beautiful, isn't it? It's rhino bone," she tells me, smiling. I tilt my head and look at her. Rhino bone? It's pretty, but also kind creepy. I have to laugh internally.

"How much?" I ask her.

"Only 2000 won," she says. "It's cheap, but rhino bone is very strong and it's very well-woven. It's a special kind of bracelet, after all."

"Special?" I ask, tilting my head slightly.

The vendor nods and looks over my shoulder at ShinWoo, who's simply standing at a distance, and watching me. I look back at the vendor. She smiles at me again., a sly sparkle in her eye.

She leans over and whispers in my ear.

"I'll buy it," I tell her and quickly hand her my cash.

* * *

ShinWoo glances at Aimee. The vendor leans over and whispers something in her ear. Curious, he walks over, to them just in time to see Aimee pull away and pay the vendor, a bright smile on her face.

"What is that?" ShinWoo asked, gesturing to the bracelet in her hand.

"I think it's really pretty," she shows him the bracelet. He smirks.

"It doesn't suit you," he says, half-joking. She smiles at him and takes his hand, surprising him a bit. She wraps the bracelet around his wrist and loop the hemp so that it sits tightly, but to too tightly.

"You're right," she says to him, examining his wrist. "It suits you better."

ShinWoo looks at the bracelet on his wrist. Aimee laughs, and tugs on ShinWoo's arm.

"Let's go," she says, skipping away.

ShinWoo watches as Aimee runs along to different shops, looking them over and talking happily with the vendors. ShinWoo smiled. Aimee always did have a very warm spirit. He was glad to see her happy. After telling that half-lie to MiNam that he'd been stood up the day he was with Aimee, he felt this was a way to make it up to her.

ShinWoo examined the bracelet around his wrist again for the hundreth time. He ran his fingers over the smooth white blocks woven into the hemp. It really _was _strangely pretty. But why had Aimee bought it for him? Knowing her, every gift she bought always had some deep meaning to it. She wasn't one to get someone pointless and thoughtless gifts. What was the thought behind this one?  
"Oppa, come here!" Aimee waved him over.

He walked over to her. She pointed to a stand of exotic fruits. ShinWoo watched in amusement as Aimee attempted to bargain with the vendor on how much a bag of lychees and passion fruits should be. Eventually, Aimee and the vendor reached a compromise and they left the stand.

"Why don't you buy anything?" she asks ShinWoo.

"I'll buy something that catches my eye," he shrugs. He smiles at her. "Anyway, you're pretty much buying the market out."

"Whatver!" she laughed. "I only have five bags."

He chuckled.


	13. Chapter 13

"_Apa!_ Dad!" I yelled, knocking loudly on the tall wooden door of the small and run-down country-side house. There's no answer. I wait a moment longer and knock again. "Apa are you there?"

"Who is it?!" someone grumbles back. I smile. I look back at ShinWoo. He gives me an encouraging smile. I turn back to the door.

"Apa! It's Aimee! I-"

I'm cut off as the door opens abruptly and a bucket of ice cold water is tossed at me. I gasp as the cold water touches my skin. Shocked, ShinWoo runs to me. I look back up at the tall wooden door.

_So after all these years, this is how it's going to be._  
I hold back tears as ShinWoo puts his arms around me.

"_Kaenchanayo_? Are you okay?" he asks.

I rub my arms and nod softly. He slips of his jacket and places it around my shoulders. I look at him. He doesn't meet my gaze. He rubs my arms through his jacket, trying to warm me up. I'm soaked. I look back at the wooden door just a moment longer before ShinWoo pulls me off. We sit down along the wall of a house a block away from my dad's house. We sit in silence for a long time.

"_Mianhae_," I say, finally. He looks at me.

"For what?"

"For not telling you about my family problems," I sigh, and look back at him.

"It's okay. It's not something you have to tell me," he says, trying to make everything sound okay again. But it's not. I look away from him and rub my arms.

"No, I mean, you're right…but I brought you on this trip, not telling you what to expect if I came to see my dad. He hates me," I shrug.

"He can't _hate _you," ShinWoo shakes his head. "He's your father."

"Did you not just see me get a bucket of ice water thrown at me?" I chuckle sarcastically. ShinWoo remains silent for a moment. I blush. "Sorry."

"It's okay," he says softly. "But why would your dad hate you?"

"I was meant to be a lawyer, or a doctor. I was supposed to be something _great_," I smile wryly. "Not a dancer. Or a singer. No, I was destined for greater things."

"My mom died when I was six. We all took it very hard, but my brother was already thirteen. He started drinking, doing things he wasn't supposed to be doing. And he was only _thirteen_. He gave my dad more trouble than my dad could handle. Calling my Halmoni to come live with us didn't help much either. My dad gave up hope on my brother, and put all the pressure on me to succeed."

I shrugged again, "I did good in school. Top of my class. But he didn't approve of me hanging out with TaeKyung, who had always been into music. To this day, he's still convinced that TaeKyung was my downfall. When I signed the label with A.N., he threw me out of the house and told me to I might as well get married to TaeKyung."

I had to laugh at that last part. ShinWoo smiled a bit as well.

"How long have you known TaeKyung? I thought he lived in Seoul his whole life?" he asked.

"Since I was twelve. I came to Seoul for school," I explained. "I was somehow fascinated by his grumpiness and bad attitude."

"I'm guessing you teased him until you broke him down?" ShinWoo chuckled.

"Of course!" I smile. "We've been best friends since."

We both laughed a little. I sneezed, and rubbed my nose. He stopped laughing, and stood up. He gave me his hand. I looked up at him.

"Come on. You're going to catch a cold if we don't head back and get you changed," he said. I shrugged, and took his hand. For a moment, I almost forgot about my dad and the ridiculous situation of the water bucket. But I remembered again, and immediately, my mood sunk. I sighed. ShinWoo glanced at me, but said nothing. He simply laid a hand on my shoulder and we walked back to the motel.

* * *

ShinWoo waited outside Aimee's motel room. His was right next door. They could have shared a room, but it didn't seem right. It was an alright motel. Decently clean and neat, but nothing special like the bigger hotels made for stars. ShinWoo was okay with that. He was a more laid-back guy anyways.

He knocked on Aimee's door. He heard a sneeze.

"Aimee, are you alright?" he called.

"_Ye_, oppa," she said back. "I'll be out in a-"

She's cut off at the sound of a crash. ShinWoo jumps, and turns the door-knob.

"Don't come in!" Aimee screams and ShinWoo is met in the face with a pillow before he can even register the moment. He stumbles back under the force of the pillow, and blinks, looking up at the ceiling. He grunts and sits up, rubbing his head.

"Get out!"

ShinWoo is met with another pillow.

"Stop it Aimee!" he yells, frustrated. "If you're hurt, just let me help you."

"I'm _fine,_ now get out!"

He looks up, and sees Aimee lying on the ground at the foot of her bed. She's curled up into a tight ball, and only about a few feet from her is a broken vase on the ground. ShinWoo looks at Aimee, and realizes why she didn't want him to come in. She sits on the ground in nothing but a tanktop and her boyshorts. ShinWoo turns red and looks away, but forces himself to look back as he realizes that Aimee is bleeding.

ShinWoo gets to his feet and grabs the first-aid kit from the closet. He walks over to Aimee's huddling form and pulls her bleeding hand into his. He takes out the gauze and gently cleans it. Aimee looks at him a moment.

"You're always so helpless. I'm always taking care of you," ShinWoo said, though he didn't mean it in a bad way. Saying this, he thought of Go MiNam and how he had bandaged her hand that one night. His fingers lingered over Aimee's wound a moment. He dazed off, thinking about MiNam's hand in his, so much smaller and softer. He felt that need to protect her again…that need he hadn't had for anyone else.

"Oppa?"

Aimee broke his trance. She stared at him for a long time. He looked at her, and then away. He took the gauze off her cut. It had sealed up some. Slowly, he saw Aimee put a hand over her heart.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"I…" she stopped, as if trying to hold back a sob, but smiled at him. "I'm okay."

"Are you sure?" he asked, bandaging her hand.

She nodded and pulled away from him. She reached up to touch her temples. She sighed deeply and looked away from him.

"Oppa, I don't think I want to go out anymore. I'm not feeling so good," she says to ShinWoo, her voice soft.

"That's alright," he said. "I'll be next door. Just rest, alright?"

"_Ye_," she replied.

* * *

I lay in my motel room bed, my face in the pillow. In my right hand, I clutch my phone. In my left hand, which was bandaged, I clutch onto the jacket ShinWoo had placed over my shoulders to warm me up. I lift my head and look at the now clean floor. ShinWoo had sweeped up the mess, despite my protests.

I closed my eyes, trying to sleep. My head throbbed. The cut on my hand pulsed. My chest ached. My whole body ached. My phone rang. I slowly brought it to my ear..

"_Ye_?" I asnwered sleepily.

"What's wrong with you? Are you drunk? This is what happens when I'm not there to take care of you," TaeKyung greeted my back with a scoff.

"Shut up, oppa," I groan. "I'm not drunk. I'm tired."

"Where are you?" he asked.

"Yeosu," I replied. "With ShinWoo."

"What? Why are you in Yeosu? And with ShinWoo?" he asked.

"Why are you with Go MiNam?" I retorted, half-awake.

Silence on his end. I yawn. He groans.

"Should I let you sleep?" he asks, his voice a bit softer now.

"What did you call for?" I ask, instead of answering his question.  
"Uh, nothing," he replied. I pull myself up onto my elbow.

"Liar," I accuse. I can feel him smirk on the other end.

"Get some rest, Aimee," he says, and hang up. I scoff.

_Ruining my sleep for no reason…_

And with that last thought, I fell asleep, still clutching ShinWoo's jacket in my bandaged hand.

* * *

I poked my head into ShinWoo's apartment. The door was unlocked.

"Oppa?" I whisper, looking around. I walk over to the bedroom and look around. No one was there. I sigh and am about to walk out when I see something shiny. I walk over closer to his dresser and touch the pendant. A simple silver star on a plain chain. ShinWoo's style. I smile to myself. It was pretty. I had to wonder if he was going to give it to someone, or if he'd bought it for himself?

"You know, most people don't like other people touching their stuff."

I freeze, and turn around and face a grinning ShinWoo. I put the necklace back and try to look calm, but my face is beet red. I shoot ShinWoo a mild glare for scaring the crap out of me.

"Your door was unlocked," I point out.

"Mhm? Did you get some rest?" he asks, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I slept like a rock!" I grinned. "Wanna take a walk?"

ShinWoo smirked, "You should stop using such short words. Be more polite to your oppa, will you?"

I giggled, and shrugged. I was used to it by now. Maybe I _should_ practice being more formal. I shrugged again and skipped from ShinWoo's motel room with him close behind me.

We browsed through the large food market. It smelled like seafood and grease, but somehow, I enjoyed it. Despite the strange stares me and ShinWoo got, I was happy to be here. Anyways, most of the stars were only because for country-side people, we probably looked extremely dressed up and 'professional'. Me in my gray cotton top tucked into a light blue satin pencil skirt and long pearls. Him in his light jeans, black suit jacket and gray vest.

"Two, please," I tell a lady at the fish cake stand. She hands me two. ShinWoo pulls out some money, but I stop him. We have a short non-verbal argument between our glares about who's going to pay until he finally gives in and lets me pay. I hand him his fish cake, proud to win the who's-gonna-pay war again.

I eat my fishcake, grinning behind it as I peek at ShinWoo from the side. Despite my own intelligience, I feel like this is a sort of date. I keep my happy little fantasy to myself and pretend to be looking around at the street vendors. In reality, I was just happy to be with ShinWoo.

"Aimee?"

I pull my fishcake out of my mouth and blink at the short, plump, old-aged woman carrying maybe ten bags of foods and groceries. It takes me a moment before I register who she was.

"_Halmoni_?" I raise one eyebrow at her. ShinWoo looks at me.

"Aimee!" she cries, and drops all ten bags and throws her big arms around me. I'm too shocked to even do anything for a moment. I hug her back. She's crying hysterically now. I hold back a laugh. Halmoni always was very dramatic.

"Oh Aimee! It's really you! You've come back to us! My dear baby Aimee!" she cried over and over again, kissing my cheeks and head. I laughed, and pushed her away slightly.

"Oh, halmoni it's good to see you too!" I smile at her. She sniffles.

"Have you been to see your father yet? He misses you terribly," Halmoni grins. ShinWoo and I exchange glances. I don't say anything to Halmoni. Instead of repeating her question, I'm thankful she notices ShinWoo instead.

"Who is this? Aimee, have you finally went and got married? Aigoo, he's very handsome. Aigoo! You're so grown up and mature now," Halmoni sighs, gawking at ShinWoo. I laugh.

"Halmoni, this isn't my _Yuhboh_," I tell her. She frowns, as if disappointed. "This is Kang ShinWoo. He's TaeKyung's band mate and one of my friends. He's not my husband."

"Don't lie to me, little girl! I know a great couple when I see one," my Halmoni puffs her big chest out arrogantly. I have to laugh, though I'm a bit red. ShinWoo turns slightly red as well, but smiles at my Halmoni.

"Nice to meet you, _Ahjimma_," he bows to her slightly. She shooes him off with a hand, shaking her head.

"Call me halmoni too, just like Aimee here," she tells him. He seems awkward for a moment, but then nods back at her. She grins, and picks up her bags of foods. She sighs a couple more times before she invites us back to the house.

"But Halmoni, I don't think Apa…" I try to protest.

"Nonsense! I'll have no nonsense. You haven't seen your brother in years," she shakes her head. "Aigoo, your brother…"

"Ah, yes! I do miss Chin," I have a total change of heart. Anyways, if I thought about, my dad's not a total moron. He might hate me, but he wouldn't really do anything but lecture me while ShinWoo, Halmoni, _and _my brother were there. So we went back to my dad's house, my Halmoni questioning me and ShinWoo the whole way home about our ' future wedding' and how we met.

"You know our Aimee is so very clumsy. She never wore skirts either. I remember one time, I got her into a dress for church. She tripped and practically ripped the skirt off as it got caught on one of the pews!" my Halmoni laughed evilly.

"_Halmoni!_" I shriek, mortified. I remembered that day. It was terrible.

ShinWoo laughed. I think this is the first real time I ever heard him laugh so genuinely. Most of the time, it was just an amused smile or smirk from him. But this time, he laughed.

"I can imagine Aimee doing something like that," he said. I playfully punched him in the arm. He rubbed his arm, even though I know it didn't hurt him one bit.

"Anyways, you really must tell me when you two are going to get married. You can't have a wedding without your Halmoni there!" my halmoni went off again. I turn beet red for the millionth time.

_If only, Halmoni._

"We sure will," ShinWoo says suddenly. I glance at him. He gives me a slight wink. I grin and shaky my head. He was messing with my Halmoni. She turns around and grins at him. She 'aigoos' again.

"Aimee, you've matured so much. I can't even believe it," she sighs.

We come up to my dad's house. A man is outside, leaning back on doorframe, a cigarrette in his hand. I hardly recognize my own brother. He looks up as he sees us coming. I hold back happy tears as I run over to him and throw my arms around his neck.

"Oppa!"

"_Dongsaeng_? What the hell are you doing here?" he asks, chucking his cigarrette away. I push away from him and glare at him.

"What do you mean what am I doing here? I'm your Aimee dongsaeng! Little sister Aimee!" I punch him in the arm, not so playfully. He flinches, but grins at me. I stare at him a long moment.

"_Yah, _did the gangster look get popular down here while I was gone?" I scoff, examining his buzzed hair, five o'clock shadow, baggy jeans and giant leather jacket. He smirks at me and pulls out another cigarette.

"Yah, dongsaeng. Your new concept doesn't match your Miss Priss attitude," he retorts. I stick my tongue out at him. He shifts his weight, his lit cigarette in his mouth. He looks at ShinWoo and nods in his direction.

"Yo," he says. ShinWoo gives a small smile and nods back. "You my dongsaeng's new boyfriend or something?"

"Oppa!" I cross my arms over my chest. "He's not my boyfriend."

"I'm Kang ShinWoo. Aimee's _friend_," he puts out a hand to shake Chin's hand. Chin stares at it a moment, and I think he's going to just walk off, but he actually takes ShinWoo's hand into a firm shake.

"Oh, you young people! Don't need to be so secretive about your love!" my Halmoni suddenly shouts. I almost forgot she was there. I sigh and chuckle. ShinWoo smirks. Chin laughs.

"I see where you got your loud streak from," ShinWoo whispers to me.

"Shut up," I say, but I laugh. It was true. My halmoni was incredibly loud and crazy at times. She puts the names of halmoni to shame. But I loved her for that very reason. She was wild but she cared. She was like another mother to me.

"Come on, dad's inside," Chin nods toward the house. But as he turns, my Halmoni smacks him on the butt and Chin groans. Halmoni lectures him about smoking in the house until he drops it and crushes it out under his boot.

"Oppa, you look like trash in those clothes," I point out to him again.

"Miss Priss," he retorts again. I shake my head. ShinWoo smirks again.

"_Ah Deul_! Son! Look who's come to visit!" Halmoni calls into the kitchen.

My heart almost stops as I see my father's tired, old figure come out of the kitchen. He's graying, and I'm reminded of how old he really is. Almost fifty by now. And Halmoni was in her nineties.

The moment my dad saw me, he froze. Everyone was quiet, excluding my halmoni who was blabbing on about stuff, but we didn't hear her. Everyone was more focused in on the tension between my dad and me. Slowly, after a long moment of silence, my dad turned away.

"Apa," I say quickly. He stops, but doesn't turn around.

My halmoni has stopped talking now. She, too, watches quietly. I take another breath, and look at the back of my dad's head. I pray that he turns around. But when he doesn't, I take another deep breath and repeat myself.

"Apa," I say again.

"What brought you here? Did your singing career finally go down the drain? Thank God," he snorted and started out of the room. I try to keep a cool face. ShinWoo glances at me, and I know why. My dad didn't know about the accident. I turn to leave. This is pointless. But Chin grabs me by the arm.

"Face up to him, Aimee. Don't just walk away," he whispered to me. I sigh.

* * *

ShinWoo glances at Aimee. What did her dad mean? Hadn't he heard about the accident? Aimee almost _died_ that night. How could he not have heard? Aimee didn't answer his questioning look. Instead, she turned to leave. Her brother, Chin, grabbed her by the arm.

Her brother whispered something to her, and she sighed, and turned around.

"Apa, you can't ignore me for the rest of my life!" she said, her voice raised.

Her dad turned back around slowly to face her. For some reason, ShinWoo's heart almost caught in his throat. Was something truly bad going to happen here? He looked at Aimee, but she was staring hard at her father.

* * *

**Author's Note: **OMG. The drama! Hehehe. x] Thanks you guys! I really love the reviews =) More lengthy ones would really make me happy, hehe. I love hearing critique on my writing. For a while, it'll just be ShinWoo and Aimee on their trip, aites? =) Any questions or anything, just send me a message! Love you all ^.~


	14. Chapter 14

"Apa, you can't ignore me for the rest of my life!" I shout at his back.

He stops. And slowly turns. His face is not angry, like I'd expected, but rather, it's a great mixture of disappointment and sadness. For the first time, I realize how heartbreaking it must be for _him_ to see me.

"Apa…" I say again. My dad simply shakes his head, looking at my clothes.

"When will you stop pretending to be someone you're not?"

I didn't answer him. He shakes his head again.

"Get out of my house."

And with that, he left.

"Apa!"I shout. He ignores me. Chin sighs, and my halmoni stomps after my dad. I feel the tears coming on, but I don't cry. I can't cry. Not here, not now. But it's so hard to hold it back that I turn and storm out of the house. ShinWoo runs after me, and catches me by the shoulder.

"Aimee," he says softly. I bury my face in my hands, and don't reply to him. I'm afraid I might cry. And I don't want to. Slowly, ShinWoo takes my hands and pulls them away from my face. When I open my eyes, I'm looking right into his. He bent down to come face to face with me. He looks at me a long moment.

"Let's go," he gave a small smile. I forced a smile back and nod.

We're both completely silent on the way back to the motel. Just as we get to the stairs leading up to our rooms, I stop. ShinWoo, who already started up the stairs, looks back at me.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

"Oppa," I say softly. He comes back down the stairs. I look at him."Do you think I'm pretending to be someone I'm not, dressed like this?"

ShinWoo is silent a moment. Then, he smiles.

"Let me just show you something, since you are asking," he said. I nod, ready to take anything he has to say. He points to my outfit.

"This," he says. "The Aimee I knew all those years, this is not her. This isn't Aimee at all. Not that I disapprove, but I'm simply answering your question. Now, think about this."

ShinWoo reaches over to my head, messes up my hair a bit. Then, he slips of his suit jacket, ties it around my waist. He takes my little purse away and also my heels. He takes my necklace and my earrings. He takes it all away until all I have are his jacket around my waist, my crumpled shirt, skirt, and bare feet.

"Cute, careless, clumsy, messy Aimee," he says. "That's the Aimee I always knew. And no matter what, you shouldn't change your outlook just for someone else. Whether it's Nobu or your father, you should always uphold to yourself, alright?"

He places a finger under my chin and makes me look up at him. I feel an ache in my chest.

_Not forNobu, not for apa…for you._

But I don't say anything. ShinWoo smiles, and turns back to the stairs. I grab his hand. He looks back at me.

"Yes?" he asks. I muster up the courage to speak.

"Could you hold me in your arms, for just a moment?" I ask him. He stays silent. I look at him. "Please? Just this once?"

After a moment, ShinWoo smirks, "Alright."

He puts his arms around me, and I hug him back as if he was going to be stolen from me right then and there. Which was almost true, if you thought about it. But thinking about it saddened me immensely, so I just clung on to ShinWoo, my face in the crook of his neck. I didn't let myself think about Go MiNam one bit.

* * *

TaeKyung groaned in agony. Why in all that's evil was devil fairy here?! Of course, not that he would rather be stuck with that ridiculous boy-girl out there, but really, _devil fairy Yoo HeYi_?! Come on!

He dialed Aimee's number. He needed to vent. He had tried earlier, but she'd been sleeping. He wanted to tell her about the embarrassing pig chasing him, about the things that were going through his head. He needed to talk to _someone_.

"Oppa?" Aimee answered, sounding sleepy again.

TaeKyung sighed, "Yah. Are you sleeping the whole time over there?"

"No!" she answered. "I just got home. I'm exhausted."

"Exhausted from what? What is there to possibly do in Yeosu besides be a little tourist? And you're no tourist," he scoffed.

"I…" she paused. "I went to go see my dad."

TaeKyung was silent for a long moment. He felt bad now.

"Oh, is that so?" he asked, his voice softer. "How'd it go?"

"Oh yeah it was wonderful," she said sarcastically. The hurt in her voice was like a knife in TaeKyung. Her voice wavered. "He did the usual insulting me, blah blah. My brother was there. ShinWoo was there. My Halmoni….yeah."

TaeKyung knew she was trying to sound like she didn't care, but he knew how much she was hurting right now. He didn't really know what to say. Since when had he forgotten, how to make Aimee feel better? He knew a hug would help, but she wasn't there with him. He felt useless.

"Take care, Aimee. You know I care about you," he said. He looked out the window, and saw Yoo HeYi talking with Go MiNam. He groaned. More trouble.

"Aimee, I have to go. I'll talk with you later," he said and hung up before she could even answer. He went out to the two outside and sat on the shallow wooden porch to pull his shoes on. HeYi walked over to him.

"Oppa! Aren't you glad I had Coordinator unni to bring you some clothes?" she cooed brightly. He rolled his eyes and ignored her. After pulling his shoes on, he stood up and looked to Go MiNam.

"If we leave now, we won't be too late getting in," TaeKyung said, rather to MiNam than HeYi. Still, she clung to his side like a mad dog. He resisted the urge to shake her off.

"Go MiNam, let's go."

"Go MiNam, you're coming too?" HeYi suddenly asked.

MiNam looked at HeYi a bit strangely. TaeKyung turned to her, but HeYi looked away, as if clueless. He knew her better than that. She was up to something.

"Hyung-nim, I'll come with Auntie later," she said. TaeKyung's irritation grew. He glared at her. She was _not _leaving him at the mercy of Yoo HeYi!

"Just come with us now," he insisted.

MiNam yawned loudly. TaeKyung could tell it was fake.

_Stupid, ungrateful, girl! You're are not leaving me!_

"I'm so sleepy and tired, I can't go with you," MiNam said, and forced a nervous smile. "Please go ahead, hyung-nim."

Yoo HeYi tugged at TaeKyung's arm, "That's right. MiNam is tired, so just let him stay."

"Then," MiNam scratched her neck nervously. "I'll just go inside and sleep. Have a safe trip."

She bowed quickly and scurried off. TaeKyung glared at the air where MiNam once stood. He pointed a finger at her.

"Go MiNam! Bring back my clothes and make sure to come back tomorrow," he told her sternly. She waits a moment, then nods softly. TaeKyung hesitates a moment as well, then walks away with HeYi to her car.

TaeKyung had to scoff. He couldn't believe it. Did MiNam wish him to die? Oh, that's right. She didn't know he was doing this HeYi thing to help her out. He scoffed again. Of course.

_Stupid girl._

* * *

ShinWoo glanced at me as I try to make circles over the entire windshield of Chin's car with my shorter arms. He shakes his head, walks over to me, and hands me the hose.

"Let me do it," he says, and pats my head. He uses his long arms to wipe over the windshield, covering a lot more area than me. I smile as I watch him. It makes me think about all those times back before Go MiNam came along. Those times after the accident.

Today, I'm dressed more like myself. In nothing but a gray T-shirt and shorts to wash Chin's car, I feel more like me. ShinWoo looks different too. Not as intimidating, maybe, in his white t-shirt and sweatpants. Chin stands, shirtless and smirking, as he washes the windows of his car.

"Ah!"

ShinWoo and I both look over at Chin. He sighs, his hands on his hips. He doesn't even care that he's getting soap bubbles onto his sweatpants. He winks at me.

"I'll go get us some drinks. Then, we can take a break," he says. ShinWoo and I both nod.

So I'm left alone with ShinWoo. I still watch as he wipes the car down. I spray the car with water a bit. I look back over at ShinWoo. He doesn't even seem to be noticing me. I smile to myself, and try to take a mental picture of what he looks like right now, so normal, so casual. It's a moment I want to sketch.

"Oppa?" I say.

"Yes?" he replies, looking at me.

"Is there someone that you love?" I ask, looking away, just in case he can read my heart in my face. I know he can't, but I look away anyways. He scoffs a little.

"Why ask? Do you?" he answers me with a question.

"Yah," I toss some water at him. He flinches. "Don't think you can avoid my question!"

ShinWoo laughs, "Hey, not fair."

I fling more water at him. He takes off after me. I let out a childish scream and run from him. We run circles around Chin's car, the hose still in my hand. I turn and give ShinWoo a full spray of water to the face. He runs after me again. I laugh childishly.

Eventually, he catches me. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he doesn't let me run anymore. I close my eyes a moment and smile. ShinWoo holds me tight against him. He stops a moment. We both stop laughing. Looking over my shoulder at him, he looks at me as well. My heart skips a beat. I open my mouth to say something, but he lets go of me. He picks up the hose again, and I think he's going to spray me back, but he turns back to the car and starts working again. I stare at him

_Does he even know about how I feel for him?_

I look away from him, and Chin standing in the doorway catches my eye. And from the smirk on his face, I know he saw everything that had just happened. And knowing my brother, he knew what I was thinking about.

* * *

I felt someone poke me in the back. I shooed the hand away. I hear a light chuckle. Another poke. Another shoo. Antoher chuckle. Another poke. Another shoo. No chuckle this time. Instead, I hear a familiar voice.

"Jung Aimee, wake up. Halmoni is here."

I shoot straight up in bed. I see ShinWoo first, standing by my bed with his arms over his chest, grinning. Then, I see my halmoni in my closet, tossing things out and about all over my room.

"What are you doing, halmoni?" I ask, bewildered by the sight.

"I must find you something nice to wear!" she yelled back, examining a lavender ruffle-blouse in my closet. I look at ShinWoo, but he simply shrugs.

"Why? What's going on?"I ask.

"A party at your father's restaurant," she said.

I frown. Again with my dad…I remembered the restaurant. It was a small place, but managed to hold a bar, a karaoke stand, a small dance floor, and the actual restaurant. I used to love it when I was a kid, but now, it just seemed tacky and chlidish. Not that she didn't miss it, though. She did. Really. But it was odd to her.

"Halmoni," I groan. "I don't want to go! Anyway, what am I doing in my bed?"

"You fell asleep after the car wash," ShinWoo commented, glancing at watch. I look at him. "I guess you were tired from all the work."

"Why didn't you wake me?" I groan.

"I tried," he smiled. "You were out cold."

I fall back on my back in my bed and sprawl my arms about. I _was_ exhausted. What. The. Hell. Ugh. I groaned and flipped over in my bed onto my face. I got a clothes-hanger thrown at me. I looked up and tossed it back at my halmoni. She threw it back at me and hit me on the head.

"Wake up, young lady! Don't throw hangers at your halmoni!" she scolded. I ignored her. ShinWoo stepped back and grinned, amused.

Suddenly, the covers were yanked off of me. I felt a chill, sleeping in just my shorts and beater. I pick up one of my three pillows on my bed and lay it on my legs in an attempt to somehow, somewhat cover them. My halmoni yanks that away as well, along with my other pillows until I lay on the bed with nothing but the bed sheet.

"Halmoni!" I whine.

"Wake up! Come on! I need to see how you look in these dresses I picked," she claps her hands loudly. ShinWoo laughs softly. I groan again and sit up from bed. I look at the dressed my halmoni picked. Of them all, I pick up a white, pink and red flowered summer dress.

"This is good enough, halmoni," I sigh and lay back in my pillow. She whacks me in the butt.

"Try it on!" she says.

"Yah, halmoni! ShinWoo oppa is right there," I retort

"Ah, it's just your Yuhboh!" she shooes it off with her had. ShinWoo laughs gain, shakes his head and waits outside the door. After locking the door, I pull off my beater and shorts. My halmoni looks at me.

"You've gotten a lot thinner," she notes.

"Yeah. I do a lot of dancing now," I tell her. She nods.

"And your singing career, how is that going?" she asks. I don't say anything. She repeats herself.

"I don't sing anymore, halmoni," I say softly. But she hears me as clear as day.

"What? Why not?" she asks, her hands on her hips. I pull my dress over my head, and wiggle into it. I don't want to talk about it.

"Because, I decided I don't want to do that anymore," I lied. My halmoni grabbed my arm and turned me to face her.

"Aimee, did something happen to you? You wouldn't just give up like that. You loved music," my halmoni said to me sternly. I shake my head and close my eyes.

"Let's just get going, halmoni," I sigh. I walk over to the vanity, brush out my waves, and apply my lip gloss. I look at myself in the mirror. I touch my reflection. A bright light flashes in my mind. I feel the crash all over again. My legs shake and give out beneath me.

"Aimee!"

"I'm okay," I say softly, and stand. My halmoni looks at me. The door bursts open. ShinWoo comes in, looking at us both. He looks at me. My wobbling legs. He walks over to me and takes me by my shoulders.

"Does it hurt?" he asks.

I shake my head no. He sits me down on the bed.

"Damn it, Aimee. If it hurts just say so," he groaned. My halmoni watched us both in silence. I wasn't lying. My legs didn't hurt. They just…gave out. I wasn't feeling like myself at all. I felt nauseous. My halmoni brushed the hair out of my face.

"Are you alright, honey?" she asked.

"Yes," I nod. "I'm fine. Let's go."

I push away from both of the worry-warts and grab a pair of chunky white buckle heels and head out. ShinWoo and my halmoni have no choice but to follow me quietly.

* * *

ShinWoo stands in the back of the restaurant by the bar, a simple beer in his hand. It was different from Seoul's beer, but it didn't really matter to him either way. He watched as the other folk dance, karaoke, or just chat. The party was a good mixture of older and younger people from the countryside here.

"Oh, it's you!"

ShinWoo turns. He doesn't recognize this woman, but bows to her slightly. She smiles at him.

"Don't you remember me?" she asked. She gestured to the hemp bracelet around his wrist. He remembered her now. The vendor who sold Aimee the bracelet. He bowed to her again, nodding.

"Yes, I remember you now," he smiled.

"How are you and that wonderful girl doing?" she asked.

ShinWoo hesitated a moment, "We're good."

"That's good," she grinned. "Well, I must get going. Parties aren't my thing."

She placed a hand on ShinWoo's arm.

"May you and that girl live a happy life together," she said.

"Ma'am?" he asked, not understanding. A strange look crossed the woman's face. She blinked at him.

"Oh, excuse me. I just assumed…because she gave you the bracelet…that you two were together," she said. ShinWoo looked at her.

"Because she gave me the bracelet?" he repeate. The woman nodded.

"This bracelet is meant to be given to the person you want to spend the rest of your life with," the woman told him. Then, she scurried off.

ShinWoo took a moment to let the woman's words sink into his mind. He remembered the vendor whispering something to Aimee before he had walked over. Could that had been something she told Aimee? But why would she give him the bracelet like that?

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Aimee's loud laugh.

_Aw, crap._

He cursed. He had forgotten to watch Aimee. ShinWoo remembered what she was like when she got drunk. And when he looked, he saw her sipping at a beer in the middle of a crowd of older guys. She was laughing and giggling, with one guy's arm around her. ShinWoo made a move to them, but stopped when Chin suddenly put a hand on his shoulder.

"I got this," he smirked. "You wouldn't want to cause a ruckus now would you?"

"I wouldn't have," ShinWoo insisted.

"Look," Chin turned to fully face him. "I appreciate your concern for my sister. I've seen you make her smile. She's happy with you. I don't know if you're smart enough to notice, but you probably mean the world to my sister. I can tell by the way she looks at you. But I don't think you're good for her."

"What are you talking about?" ShinWoo looked at him. Chin scoffed.

"So you _aren't_ smart enough," he shook his head. "Whatever. Maybe Aimee will get the guts to tell you later on then. For now, let's just go break this up."

"Wait," ShinWoo placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you saying Aimee likes me?"

"Whoop-de-doo, genius," Chin scoffed again, and shrugged his hand off.

ShinWoo stood there, confused and dazed.

_Aimee likes me?_

* * *

Chin shakes his head.

_Babo. Fool. Idiot._

Was that the type of guy Aimee was into? What the hell. Chin scoffed again, walking over to the guys around Aimee. They looked up when they saw him. Some patted him on his back as he walked by.

Aimee grinned as she saw him. Chin scowled. She was wasted, and after only four beers? What the heck. Chin could take up to eight.

"Oppa!" she smiled.

"Hey guys," Chin forced a smile at the guys.

"I'm gonna have to borrow my sister here," he said, and gestured to ShinWoo in the back. "Her boyfriend is getting a little jealous."

"That's her boyfriend?" one guy scowled.

"He aint so tough-lookin'," another guy added.

"Whoah, hold up guys," Chin smirked. "Now, as Aimee's oppa, I'd love to see him get beat, but let's just hold back on dear Aimee's account now, alright?"

gsax "Yeah yeah sure," one guy said.

"There are hotter girls here anyways!" another guy said. The group yelled in agreement and they strode off. Chin placed an arm around Aimee's shoulder and walked her back to ShinWoo, who sat her down on a stool immediately.

"Aimee, I told you to not have more than two beers!" ShinWoo scolded her like she was a child. Aimee giggled, but didn't reply. Chin shook his head.

"Is she always like this in the city?" he asked ShinWoo.

"Yeah, but it's gotten worse before. Your sister can't handle alcohol," ShinWoo smirked. Chin smirked back.

"I can tell."

Suddenly, a loud shout caught their attention.

"Back the fuck off!"

Chin saw a broad, brown-haired guy shove one of the guys that Chin had just been talking to. Chin had never before seen this brown-haired guy. Was he new to the countryside?

"Nobu?" ShinWoo suddenly said. Chin looked at him.

"You know this guy?" Chin asked.

ShinWoo nodded, "He's from the city. Works with Aimee and I."

"You back off!" the guy yelled at the stranger,

"Make me!" Nobu retorted. The other guy threw a punch. Nobu dodged it. Automatically, Chin ran over. There was no fighting in his father's bar.

**

* * *

**DAMNNZZ. xD ShinWoo finally has _some_ idea huh? Hehe. And omg, NOBU YOU STALKER. xD Always gotta make trouble!

Author's Note:

Thanks for the reviews, you guys. I love you all~ 3 And don't worry. Big action coming soon. =)


	15. Chapter 15

"Break it up!" Chin shouted, jumping between Nobu and the other guy.

"He started it, Chin!" the other guy shouted. "That asshole shoved me."

"You bumped me first!" Nobu shouted back.

"It was an accident!"

"Accident my ass!"

"Both of you little ladies better grow the fuck up or get outta my bar," Chin snapped at them both. Nobu shoved Chin off him, but made no advance to the other guy. The other guy scoffed.

"I got you later, little man," he threatened Nobu, who spat in his face. The guy jumped at Nobu again, but Chin held him back and shoved him off. He turned, and walked back over to his friends.

I tilted my head, taking in the scene. Then, I looked to the side of me. ShinWoo stood there, shaking his head and scoffing. I looked back at my brother, who was looking pissed and disgusted. Then, it sunk in.

"Nobu?!"

I gasped, and immediately ducked my head into my arms. ShinWoo glanced at me. What in the world was Nobu doing here?! Damn stalker…I hoped he didn't see me. But when I looked up, I saw Nobu heading straight for me and ShinWoo.

"What are you doing here, Nobu?" ShinWoo asked, but Nobu ignored him.

"Aimee, can we talk?" he said. I looked at him.

"You just almost started a fight in my dad's bar," I tell him simply. "And what are you doing here anyways? Are you stalking me or something?"

"Aimee," Nobu said seriously. I sighed.

"I'll be right back," I mumbled to ShinWoo, who simply nodded.

"What are you doing here, Nobu?" I asked, rubbing my arms. It was dark outside, and slightly chilly. We were maybe a block down from the restaurant. Nobu kicked the ground, and looked up at me. As he saw me rubbing my arms, he offered me his jacket. I refused it.

"Aren't you cold?" he asked.

"Just answer my question," I said. Nobu sighed.

"Why, Aimee? Why would you just take off like that and with _him _of all people?" Nobu scoffed. "I mean, I know you like him and everything, but why? Are you really so  
desperate? He doesn't even know how you feel. He doesn't care either, I can tell you that."

Fury flashed in me. I turned to face him.

"Fuck you!" I shouted. His eyes widened. "You don't know anything about me. You don't know what I've been through. And you have no idea about anything about ShinWoo  
and I. You have no idea what he's brought me through. You think I have just a silly immature crush? Well, fuck you. You have no right to judge me or what I do. Or who I want to be with. You have no right."

I turned, and started to storm off. Nobu grabbed my arm. I pulled away from him. I was so angry. Nobu had no right to say shit to me. It was hard enough that ShinWoo had no idea how I felt. With Nobu judging me at every corner and saying shit about me and him only made it worse. I wanted to burn Nobu this time. I didn't care anymore.

"Go home, Nobu. Stop following me around like a sick little puppy," I snapped, knowing that no matter how much Nobu liked me, this would shread his pride into bits. Nobu's jaw muscle clasped, and for a moment, I think he might actually hit me. Or at least say something. But he doesn't. He just turns and storms off. I watch his back as he walks away. I turn and make my own way back to the bar.

At least that was over with.

* * *

Nobu storms off, his steps heavy. Fury and pain blurrs his vision. Fine. Fuck her too. If she wanted to be that way, just watch where it would get her. ShinWoo didn't have a single clue as to how much she cared about him. And it probably wouldn't matter to him either. He had something else going on in his head. Nobu could tell.  
Nobu is so busy being angry and frustrated, he doesn't even notice the pair of bright headlights coming straight at him. He notices them too late, and by the time he does, the car already hit him. Nobu feels a blast of pain, starting from his legs up. He flips over the car, and lands on the cemented sidewalk. Pain courses through his body, and he cries out. The car that hit him drives off, and he hears a distant voice shout out.

"I told you I'd get you back you fuckface!"

Nobu has to laugh sarcastically to himself. Cowards. There was only one thing on his mind when he started to pass out on the ground. The words Aimee had said to him.  
_  
"Stop following me around like a sick little puppy!"_

* * *

Aimee rushed through the hospital doors in front of Chin and ShinWoo. Chin had given them a ride since neither Aimee nor ShinWoo brought their cars. Aimee had received a call abou twenty minutes ago about Nobu being in a hit-and-run accident. She had screamed at Chin to give them a ride right away. They left the party early.

"Nobu, nobu, nobu," Aimee kept saying as she paced the hall in front of the emergency room.

"Why are you so worried about that asshole, little sis?" Chin scoffed. Aimee shot him a death glare. He shut his mouth.

"You don't know anything about him, Oppa. So shut up," she said sternly.

ShinWoo was surprised to hear her defend him. He knew well that she didn't like Nobu at times. But then again, he remembered the way she had defended him against ShinWoo that one time. He hadn't expected that either. It made ShinWoo wonder about what Chin had said earlier…about Aimee liking him. What was that about?  
ShinWoo's thoughts were interrupted as his phone rang. He looked at it. It was TaeKyung. He pisked up.

"TaeKyng," he greeted. Aimee stopped pacing and looked at him.

"Hey, ShinWoo, when are you and aimee coming back?" TaeKyung asked.

ShinWoo stepped away from Aimee and Chin.

"We were supposed to come back tomorrow morning, but there's been an accident," ShinWoo said.

"Is Aimee okay? What happened?" TaeKyung interrupted before ShinWoo could explain.

"It wasn't Aimee," ShinWoo sighed. "It was Nobu."

* * *

"Aimee, seriously, what's with you and that Nobu guy?" Chin asked me after ShinWoo stepped out to take that call with TaeKyung. I sighed, bit my lip and looked at my brother. I felt terrible. I felt at fault, somehow for Nobu's accident. Maybe I shouldn't have been so hard, and he wouldn't have walked off and gotten himself hurt like this.

"He's a guy I work with. He's liked me for a while now. We had this big argument right before he wakled off and got into an accident," I explained briefly. My brother 'oh'ed and shut up for a moment.

Suddenly, the doors to the emergency room opened, and Aimee ran up to the cot. Nobu lay there, his head bandaged up and his face bruised.

"I'm sorry, Nobu," I said. "I'm really really sorry…"

But they dragged Nobu off to his room, and Aimee stayed behind, a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. God, she hoped he wasn't hurt. Maybe he was a total asshole, but he didn't deserve to die. She hoped with all her heart that he was okay.

I practically tackled the doctor down when I saw him.

"Doctor! Is he alright? Will he be okay?" I asked. Chin stood up and stood beside me.

"He'll be okay," the doctor said. "He's a bit bruised and beat up…but we think he'll be alright. But there's just one thing…"

My heart clenched. "What?"

The doctor sighed, "The car must have hit him from his legs first. He's…paralyzed, Miss. I'm sorry, but we can't seem to do anything. I'm sorry."

The doctor walked away with that. My heart dropped to my stomach. My hands shook. My legs went numb.

"Aimee!"

Chin caught me as I fell to the floor.

Nobu was…_paralyzed?_

Irony sure bit hard in the ass.

* * *

ShinWoo made his way up the stairs to Nobu's hospital room. It was the next morning. Aimee had refused to come home, and had slept overnight at the hospital with Nobu. ShinWoo hadn't understood until Chin had told him what the doctor said. Chin and Aimee's halmoni had asked what everything was about, but ShinWoo hadn't been sure if it was his place to tell them about it. So instead, he came to the hospital. He wanted to make sure she was okay.

As he walked in, he saw Aimee passed out on the guest couch beside the hospital cot. Nobu was asleep as well. ShinWoo walked over and placed the lunch box on the table next to Nobu's cot. He bent over and shook Aimee awake. She stirred, and woke easily.

"Morning," she muttered, yawning.

"Morning," he said back. He nodded to the lunchbox. "I brought breakfast. Your halmoni packed it."

"Oh, that was nice of her," Aimee muttered sleepily. She seemed so down. Her eyes were on Nob u. ShinWoo blinked at her. Aimee seemed…different. ShinWoo knew what was bothering her.

"It's not your fault," he said. "I know you must feel bad for Nobu in this situation, but there's nothing-"

"Shut up," Aimee said suddenly. ShinWoo looked at her. Aimee looked away, and opened the lunchbox. She opened it up, and sorted the trays out. She scoffed.

"Why did Halmoni pack so little food? I should leave this for Nobu," Aimee said.

"Then let's take a walk down to the cafeteria until Nobu wakes up. You need to eat too," ShinWoo said. He wanted to talk to Aimee, whether she wanted to talk to him or not.  
There was too much that he had to talk about to her. Nobu, and _them._

"Okay," Aimee said.

"Hospital food is gross," Aimee joked, smiling at ShinWoo and sipping at her milk.

ShinWoo smiled back at her, and thought about how to bring it up to her, what he wanted to say. How should he do it? He decided he should just say it, and get it over with.

"Aimee," he said slowly. She looked up at him.

"Yes?" she replied.

"Don't you think we should have a talk about _us_?" he asked.

Aimee froze a moment. She blinked at him, then, she put her milk down. She looked away from him a moment. Aimee looked back at him, confused.

"W-what?" she asked.

* * *

"W-what?" I asked.

"A talk. About us," he repeated. My heart skipped a beat. "I know."

"You…know?" I repeated. "How?"

"It doesn't matter," he replied, sitting back in his chair.

I remain silent, waiting for him to say something. I feel as if my tongue has swollen up and is taking up my whole mouth. I can't speak. I can't move. Nothing. My heart sinks and I'm afraid. What will he say? What will h do?

"I've thought about it," he says, finally. "And I don't believe it."

"What?" I ask, confused.

He smiles, "I thought at first that maybe it was just a joke. I didn't get it. I didn't believe it. But when I thought about it, I realized that maybe it was true. But then, the whole Nobu thing happened. And you were so concerned about Nobu. I realize now that you do like Nobu. And I know you really appreciate and respect me. And to others, I realize that this may seem like affection towards me."

I register what he is saying in my mind. He continues.

"I know that maybe you do hold affection towards me as a good friend, but I just want you to know that I don't take it the wrong way at all. And I'm sorry for all the pressure everyone put on you, thinking we were together. It must've been hard, liking Nobu while everybody thought you liked me," ShinWoo smiled, and took my hand in his.  
_  
You're completely taking it the wrong way, oppa. Completely…  
_  
I pull my hand away from his, and stand up. He looks at me. I want to say something, and in frustration, I want to hit him. How stupid can someone get? I feel the tears coming on. But I bite them back, and simply walk out of the cafeteria.

I walk back to Nobu's room, where I see Nobu is just waking up. He stretches his arms above his head, and yawns loudly. I force a smile at him. He grins back. This is his first time awake since the accident.

"What did I miss?" he asks. I chuckle.

"A lot," I say, although I didn't want to be the one to tell him. "But before we talk about that, you should eat breakfast."

"Did you make all this? It looks great!" he looks over at my halmoni's lunchbox.

"No, my halmoni made it," I laugh, and pull out the chopsticks. My heart clenches as I think about ShinWoo again, but I try to ignore it. I pick up some rolled egg omlette and shove it in his face. He blinks at me.

"Come on!" I say, and shove it more into his face. I grin. He looks at me a moment longer, then grins as well, and eats the omlette. I pick up some rice, and feed it to him as well. I smile to myself, and despite myself, I start to think about ShinWoo again. I remember, we had a moment like this.

_  
I slip into ShinWoo's room, a tray with two teacups and a teapot in my hands. I find ShinWoo sitting up in his bed, reading. He looks up as I enter. I flash him a smile and place the tray on his nighttable. I sit on his bed by the edge._

"What is it?" he asks.

"I heard oppa wasn't feeling so well, so I decided to come over and brew you your favorite tea," I say, and pour him a cup from the teapot. He takes it, smliing. I pour myself one as well, even though I'd have preferred juice like Jeremy.

"Don't you have anything else to do besides worry about my being sick?" ShinWoo asked, taking a sip from his cup. I shrug.

"Oppa was good to Aimee when Aimee was sick. So Aimee must be good to Oppa too," I say, patting the place over my heart. "Isn't that right?"

"I suppose so," ShinWoo chuckled. I nod, and smile, sipping my tea.  
"Aimee?"

I come back to my senses. Nobu stares at me. I'm holding my chopsticks in mid-air, and I realize I must've stopped while I was having that flashback.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I force a smile. "Eat."

Nobu rejects the piece of sausage I try to feed him. He looks at me.

"What's wrong, Aimee? Is it ShinWoo again?" he asks.

"Stop worrying about it. I'll be fine," I tell him. "Now eat."

Nobu hesitates a moment more, but then decides to just take the food I feed him.

* * *

After feeding Nobu his breakfast, I tell him I was going to go back to my dad's house a moment. I caught a taxi back to the countryside, and ignore the messages I have from TaeKyung and ShinWoo. MiNam called once, but didn't leave a message.

"Halmoni? Chin?" I call as I get to my dad's house. "Apa?"

"I'm in here, dear," my halmoni calls. I walk to the kitchen, where she is preparing a small meal. I place her lunchbox in the sink and start to wash them.

"How is your friend at the hospital, Aimee?" Halmoni asks. I shrug.

"He's paralyzed, Halmoni," I say, the words spilling out so smoothly that it surprises me. My halmoni stops tossing the vegetables on the table and looks at me. I ignore her stare and continue to scrub down the dishes until my halmoni walks over and turns me to look at her.

"Aimee, are you alright?" she asks softly. I sigh.

"Halmoni…you don't understand what I'm feeilng right now," I say, and try not to sob.

"Talk to me, honey," she said, rubbing my back and sitting me down at the table. I'm thankful for her gentlye touch at the moment. I don't know how to start.

"Do you remember I told you I don't sing anymore? Well, I…was in an accident, about a year back. I was injurted pretty badly. I was told I could never walk again," I tell her slowly. "And I had injured one of my lungs. It was so bad to the point where I would have trouble talking, or even breathing. It ruined my singing career. I was so crushed. I wanted to give up. But it wasn't like I could come crawling back here after everything with my Apa."

"I wanted to give up. I hated the world. I hated myself," I started to sob, but no tears came. "It was ShinWoo who helped me through it. I mean, of course, TaeKyung and Jeremy also helped and suppoted me, but it was ShinWoo who was kind and gently to me. He was the only person who could talk to me when I had fallen into my deepest depression. He was the one who convinced me that life wasn't what I made it out to be. And I'm on my feet again because of him. But I still can't sing. I've tried, and I'm not anywhere as good as I was before. I just can't do it anymore…"

"I see," my Halmoni said slowly. "Aimee, you could have just come home. Your father, he may have been too hard on you when you left, but he does love you. He's only human. You hurt him when you left, and he hurt you because of it. You could have come home…"

"No, halmoni. I don't know anymore. I'm sure Apa loved me at some point," I sobbed more. "But I don't know anymore. If Apa loved me, he would have accepted me. He didn't have to like what I wanted to do or even support me, but I wished that deep down in his heart he would have just accepted it. Not for my sake, but for his. Halmoni, I watch him hurt so much everyday that I almost wanted to quit singing for him…but I couldn't do it. I thought that in the end, Apa would still love me. But I don't think so anymore. He's never heard me sing once, and he never bothered to."

"You're the one who's always been there, halmoni," I look at her. "You and Chin. I had my memories of you both standing in the crowd and cheering me on with your smiles. I would have liked to have those memories with my father as well, but I guess it's just not meant to be. Maybe I just never deserved my Apa."

"Aimee…" my halmoni looked at me a long moment, but said nothing more.

I let out one final sob, before I pull myself together. I force a smile at my halmoni.

"I think that's enough crying for one day,' I sigh. "I'm going to go back to the motel and pack my stuff. I don't want to leave Nobu at the hospital alone for too long. He'll start to worry and I don't want him throwing himself out the window for my sake."

My halmoni forces a smile, but I still see the sadness in every wrinkle on her kind and caring face. I hate myself. I wish I didn't make everyone so miserable. I can't even make the ones I love smile. What kind of person was I?

* * *

"TaeKyung?" I greet, as I hear the other line being picked up. I stick the last of my clothes back into my suitcase. I'm in my motel room, packing up.

"Aimee! Finally, you called back," TaeKyung sighed. "Where were you? You can't even call your Oppa back? You little monkey!"

"_Yah_," I shout back at him. "I have a life too! Shouldn't you be working with MiNam anyways?"

"That little pig-rabbit is still with his aunt at his hometown. Hasn't come home yet," TaeKyung muttered. "How is Nobu? And when are you and ShinWoo coming back?"

"Nobu is alright…they are transferring him to a hospital in Seoul," I tell him. He and Jeremy had already been filled in on Nobu's condition by ShinWoo. They had both been very silent about it, but seem to be concernced, despite their dislike for Nobu.

"ShinWoo and I are coming back by tonight. We're about to leave now. Just finishing up some packing." I tell hm and zip up my suitcase.

"Alright then. See you later," he said, and we both hung up.

"Ready to go?"

I turn, and see ShinWoo in the doorway. I nod, and pull the handle on my suitcase up. ShinWoo smiles at me, but I don't smile back. He blocks the doorway as I make my way to leave. I look at him.

"What is it?" I ask him.

"Since you gave me the bracelet, I want to show my appreciation to you too," ShinWoo smiled, and reached behind my ear. I flinched, and he pulled his hand back, opening it to reveal the silver star pendant I had seen in his room the other day. I'm silent as ShinWoo slips it around my neck and clasps it shut. I pull the little pendant into my hand, it's sharp edges digging into my fingertips.

"Thank you, ShinWoo oppa," I tell him silently, and force a smile. "But you didn't have to."

"Come on," ShinWoo ignores my last statement. "If we want to say goodbye to your family and make it on time to oiur filght, we should leave now."

I wrap my arms around Chin, hugging him goodbye. I sniffle, and Chin laughs.

"Stupid dongsaeng," he says. "Why are you crying? We'll see each other again."

"Shut up, oppa," I stick my tongue out at him. We both look over at my halmoni, who is hugging ShinWoo and bawling. Chin and I both laugh.

"You take care of yourself, alright?" she cries. "I'm so glad to have met you."

"Same, halmoni," ShinWoo smiles at her. She wipes her tear-stained face with her apron.

"Now, if you ever need anything, you just call your dear Halmoni up, alrght? I may not have your mother's touch, but I will do what I can," she finall lets go of ShinWoo and pats her heart, ShinWoo laughs, and nods.

"I will, halmoni," he says.

It's my turn now. I hug Halmoni, and she starts bawling like a baby all over again. I hold back my tears. My halmoni hugs me to tightly I think she might truly strangle me.

"I'm so sorry, my love. I have nothing to give to you before you leave. Nothing," she shakes her head. I pat her back.

"It's alright, halmoni. I love you. I'll be back to visit. Take care of Chin and Apa for me, alright?" I tell her. She nods and hands me a small box. I look at her.

"This is all I can give to you, my beautiful girl," she pats me hair. I make a move to open the box, but she shakes her head. "Later. Not now."

I nod and look into the house. I want to say goodbye to my father, but part of me is afraid to step inside. My halmoni notices this, and calls loudly to her son.

"Ah Deul! Get out here and say goodbye to your daughter!" she shouts.

Nothing.

"It's okay," I sigh. I look back into the house, and shout loudly, "Goodbye, Apa. I love you!"

My halmoni smiles at me. I look at Chin, and point a finger at him.

"Take care of Apa and Halmoni. If you don't, I'm going to come back and murder you!" I tell him. He smirks, and nods firmly. Then, I smile and turn back to ShinWoo, who waves a final goodbye to my family. We both walk back to the car and take off to the airport.  
_  
I'm sorry, Apa_, was the last thought on my mind as we pulled away from my father's house.


	16. Chapter 16

I sit in the recording room beside the boys, scribbling words onto my sheet of music. I haven't written a song in a long time, but for some reason, inspiration hit me on the way home from Yeosu. I look up. Jeremy is tapping distractedly at his drumset. TaeKyung is sitting at the keyboard, glaring his sheet music down. ShinWoo strums aimlessly on his guitar.

"Yah, you guys," I say, breaking the odd silence. "Why are you all pouting so?"

"Nothing, noona. It's just…" Jeremy glanced at TaeKyung. "Hyung, did you say something to MiNam? Is he not coming back because he's scared?"

It'd been two days since Shinwoo and I got back. Three days since TaeKyung has been back.

"It has been three days. He won't even pick up his phone," ShinWoo adds.

TaeKyung silently looks at his sheet music. I grow a bit angry at their silent accusations. Just because TaeKyung was mean didn't mean he was to blame if MiNam didn't want to come back.

"Why blame TaeKyung?" I jump in. "If he doesn't want to come back then he won't. If he does, he'll come back when it's time. You don't have to all blame TaeKyung for it."

ShinWoo and Jeremy turn away. TaeKyung says nothing, and simply stands up. He leaves the recording studio. We all watch as he goes. I stand, shoot ShinWoo and Jeremy a glare, and follow TaeKyung out.

"Oppa!" I call after him. He stops, and looks back at me.

"What is it, monkey?"

"I'm going to go get MiNam. Are you coming with me?" I ask.

"Didn't you just say he'll come back when he's ready? Why are you going to get him," TaeKyung scoffs. I look at him.

"You know there's something wrong. Maybe it's true he'll come back when he's ready. But I think MiNam needs someone right now. And if it won't be you then it'll be me," I tell him. He says nothing back to me. I wait for a reply, but he doesn't say a word.

"So I take it you're not coming with me?" I finally say. He's silent again. I shake my head at him and make my way to my car in the lot.

* * *

MiNam stares at the black suit jacket hanging on the line outside. She can still see him in it. His broad shoulders as he stares off handsomly into the air.

"I want to see him," she mutters to herself. Then, she shakes her head. "No! I can't see him until these stupid feelings go away."

Just as she says this, her aunt runs up to her. MiNam jumps, startled.

"MiNam! MiNam! He's come from Seoul to take you back home!" her aunt shouts. "He came here to take you home."

MiNam jumps to her feet, "Someone came to get me?"

Her aunt nods, grinning, "Yes, hurry."

MiNam's heart jumps for joy.

_TaeKyung. TaeKyung. He came for me. I want to see him. I want to see him._

She runs as fast as she can to the edge of town, where she was sure he'd be. Her heart thumped so loudly that she didn't even notice the passing car that screeched to a stop just before it would hit her. She didn't stop to apologize. She ran and ran until she reached the edge of town.

MiNam's heart continued to thump and thump. She saw the tall figure standing beside the twisted tree on the edge of the river. Her heart…her heart. She sighed, smiling, and ran to him.

"Hyung-nim!"

The figure turns, and MiNam comes to a halt as she realizes this isn't hyung-nim. Not at all. She stares blankly at his long brown hair, long face, and kind smile.

_ShinWoo hyung._

MiNam's smile falls from her face. She stares long and hard at him, as if he was an illusion. As if, if she started long enough, he'd turn into TaeKyung. But he doesn't. It's ShinWoo. It really is.

"Were you expecting TaeKyung?" ShinWoo asks suddenly. MiNam opens her mouth to reply, her face red with embarrassment. She sighs.

"ShinWoo hyung…" she trails off.

"Even though you weren't waiting for me, it's okay," he sighs, and smiles warmly at her. MiNam's heart twists for him.

"I came for you. I did," ShinWoo says. MiNam's chest hurts, and she doesn't know why. Was it because she didn't want ShinWoo here? Was is because she'd hoped for TaeKyung? Was it because she knew ShinWoo was a bit hurt she hadn't been expecting him? Was it because she was disappointed?

* * *

I pull my car up further along the narrow street. I'm just about to turn into the town when I see someone run out of the driveway and into the street. I slam my foot on the brakes, just in time to stop from hitting whoever the idiot was.

But then I look. I recognize the long brown hair and the clothes.

_Go MiNam._

She's running off somewhere as fast as she can. I slowly pull my car forward and drive after her, but stay out of sight. Where was she going?

I realize it when I pull out to the edge of town. I watch from the top of the hill as MiNam runs down and to the riverbank, where someone else stood. It takes me a moment to recognize this person. But I do. And it's like another stab to my heart.

_ShinWoo._

I scoff at myself. I should have known better. Of course ShinWoo would drag himself out here to come get her. I curse myself. What the hell was I thinking? Why had I even bothered to come down here to get her? I scoffed again, and laughed dryly.

Whatever.

I want to look away from them, but I can't. I watch the whole thing. I watch as they sit and talk. I can tell from the way MiNam keeps ducking her head and touching her face that she is crying. I wonder what ShinWoo is saying to her.

'_What can I do for you?'_

Probably something like that. I grip the steering wheel of my car until my knuckles are white and my fingers are numb. I watch as MiNam stands, and ShinWoo beside her. She wipes her tears away, and they walk away together. Back to his car.

Finally, I make a move and decide to drive away before they see me. I refuse to get caught in such an embarrassing situation.

* * *

TaeKyung stares off into space. He thinks about MiNam. Should he have gone with Aimee to get her? Maybe he had said something to offend MiNam, knowing what a sensitive girl she was. Maybe he _had_ done something to upset her. Not purposely though, of course.

"Hyung!" Jeremy barged into the room, grinning and ruining TaeKyung's thoughts. He looked up at Jeremy.

"Go MiNam is back! ShinWoo hyung brought him back," Jeremy said loudly.

TaeKyung pondered this a moment. If ShinWoo had brought her back…what had happened to Aimee? He was about to ask Jeremy this, but Jeremy spoke before he could.

"They're getting ready in the recording studio. Do you want to go?" Jeremy asks. TaeKyung hesitates a moment, still wondering about Aimee. But his thoughts wander off to MiNam once more. ShinWoo went and got her? He scoffed, not even noticing that Jeremy had left the room, deciding TaeKyung wasn't in the mood.

"Go MiNam, if you'd stayed one more day, I would have come to get you," TaeKyung says aloud to himself. "You sure have good luck, Go MiNam."

He scrambled to his feet, and headed to the recording studio.

* * *

I stomped up the stairs of the studio building. I sip at my milkshake. I'd gotten it, deciding I didn't want to go buy a drink and get my ass drunk. That would be even more embarrassing than getting caught in the earlier situation.

I looked up, and saw TaeKyung stomping grumpily into a recording studio.

_What now?_ I thought, and followed him. I slip into the recording studio. No one seems to notice me. I hear a familiar song playing. I hear a familiar voice. I realize it's MiNam, singing TaeKyung's song. Everyone watches and listens to her as she sings. No one notices me. And I realize it's because her voice truly was like an angel's. The way she sang the song…it seemed to carry her heart.

"Without a word , you let me know love. Without a word, you give me love," she sings. "You made me even hold your breath but you ran away like this. Without a word, love leaves me. Without a word, love tossed me away…"

The deep resentment in my heart comes up again. I want to cry, because I hate her so much. I hate this. I remembered when I could sing like that. But not anymore. No, not anymore. I slip out of the recording studio, unnoticed once again.

But just as I make my way down the stairs, I'm nearly pushed over as MiNam rushes past me. She runs around to the back, out the door. I froze, wondering what had happened. But then, ShinWoo rushes past me, and out the same door as MiNam just did a moment ago.

Despite the knowledge that what I would see if I followed would hurt me, I followed. Slowly and silently, I walk out the door and stand behind a corner, watching.

"Please do not look at me!" MiNam cries, as ShinWoo makes a move to turn her around. "No one can look at me…"

"It's too hard to bear," she cries. "I feel as if I will be found out."

She sobs loudly, and despite the resentment I just felt towards her, my heart aches. A hand on my shoulder startles me. I turn, and see TaeKyung. He looks at me, and then, he looks up at ShinWoo and MiNam. Something stirs him, and his eyes go cold. His jaw muscle twitches. I look back at ShinWoo and MiNam.

"I'll shield you so that nobody finds out," ShinWoo suddenly says, and pulls MiNam into him, wrapping his arms around her. The resentment comes up again. I tense, and push away from TaeKyung. I run from the scene, wondering why it still hurt this much even if I knew it was coming.

* * *

A knock on my door later that night startled me. I put down my pen and put my arm over my music sheet as TaeKyung walks into my room.

"Are you alright?" he asks.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I ask, not even turning around to look at him.

"Earlier-"

"Earlier, nothing happened," I say sharply.

TaeKyung stares at me silently. I start to scribble on my music sheet again. I hope that my ignoring him will get him to leave, but it doesn't. He simply stands at my door and waits for me to say something. I don't.

"Manager Ma says that Go MiNam's feelings have exploded…for Kang ShinWoo," TaeKyung says suddenly. My hands stops in the middle of a word. I tighten my grip around the pencil. TaeKyung continues.

"He wants me to do something about it," TaeKyung scoffs. "What the hell am I supposed to do?"

I don't say a word. I continue to scribble again. TaeKyung grabs my hand and turns me to face him. He stares at me a long moment. I start to tear up, but I refuse to cry.

"Aimee," he says firmly. "You like Kang ShinWoo don't you?"

I yank my hand away roughly. He lets go easily and my arm flings back and hits my lamp, nearly knocking it over. I ignore it. TaeKyung stares at me.

"None of that matters anymore," I mutter.

"How does it not matter, how you feel?" TaeKyung asks, his voice softer now.

"Because he doesn't understand any of it," I laugh dryly. "And I don't care anymore."

"Do you really believe that? Don't be absurd," he says.

"Just go, TaeKyung," I sigh.

"I don't know what to do for you anymore, Jung Aimee. You've never pushed me away up until now," TaeKyung said slowly. "You used to come to me whenever you needed something. Now, I feel as if you don't even need me anymore."

"I was told I needed to grow up," I say softly, smiling despite the ache in my chest. "Maybe I should learn to stand up on my own now."

"Love doesn't mean changing who you are to be what somebody wants you to be, Aimee," TaeKyung says, and turns to leave me. Part of me wants to call him back, but another part of me still can't forget what ShinWoo told me.

_"Maybe if you stop acting like a child…" _

I'm truly sorry, TaeKyung oppa.

Another knock at my door makes me think TaeKyung decided not to walk away. But as I turn, I see MiNam. She bows apologetically. My heart sinks. She's the last person I want to see right now.

"Sunbae," she says slowly, and looks around nervously.

"What is it?" I ask, sighing. I can't bear to be mean to her.

"I…heard you came to get me earlier today. But I had already left with ShinWoo," she said slowly. She bowed. "I'm sorry for troubling you."

I don't reply for a moment. But then, I say, "What are you apologizing for? I came on my own will. It's nothing to be sorry for."

MiNam shook her head, "Sunbae, I'm still sorry though. Please accept my apology."

I sigh again. "MiNam, please, just go."

"Is sunbae mad at me?" she asks slowly. I look at her.

_Yes, I am. Now get the fuck out of my room._

That's what I want to say to her, but I don't. I simply shake my head and force a smile.

"I'm just tired, MiNam. It's been a long day," I tell her. She nods, and smiles back. As she makes her way out, I call her back.

"Was there something else you wanted from me, sunbae?" she asked.

I try to smile, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, sunbae. Anything," she says.

"No, I mean, as in, girl-to-girl," I say, whispering the last part. She stares at me a moment, but then nods. She sits down beside me on the bed. I turn to look at her.

"MiNam, is there someone you like?" I ask. She stares at me blankly, seeming confused. I continue. "Please, let me know. As your noona, unnie, whatever. Not your sunbae. Is there someone here that you like?"

She looks away, tears forming in her eyes. She wipes them away, sniffling already. I look at her. She forces a smile at me, and sighs. But she doesn't answer me.

"That's a yes, right?" I say finally, my heart sinking.

"I..I'm just a fan, sunbae," she laughs nervously.

"Do you really believe that?" I ask softly.

"I'm sorry, sunbae. I don't want to talk about this," MiNam stands, and leaves my room. I want to call her back, but I don't. I sigh.

**

* * *

**

Author's Note:

wow. I feel very dramatic and stupid now, ahahhaa. Wtf. Aimee is just so messed up right now. And arghh, can you understand Aimee's hate for MiNam? I sure do…and yet, she can't stand to do anything to MiNam. . My own story is frustrating me, hahha.

Btw, don't worry my dear readers! I haven't forgotten Nobu or Aimee's dad! Hehe. For now, I think Aimee just needs a good break from all the MiNam-ShinWoo-TaeKyung drama, don't you? =)


	17. Chapter 17

I sigh, and pull up into the parking lot of the Seoul Hospital. I step out and walk out to the lobby. I make my way up to Nobu's room. I find him jamming to music and reading a book. He looks up and smirks as I walk in. I survey his room, looking at the cards and bouquets.

"Wow, you have lots of admirers, don't you?" I scoff jokingly, rubbing my fingers over a colorful bouquet of lilies.

Nobu smirks, "From coworkers and fans."

"You haven't even debuted yet!" I shake my head, smiling.

"I'm still that awesome," Nobu grinned, but then looked at me. "Where were you all day? You didn't even visit me once!"

"I'm visiting now," I tell him, sticking my tongue out at him.

"And I'm glad," Nobu smiles.

There's a short awkward silence. I wonder if he knows about his condition already. Probably. Nobu seems to catch onto the awkwardness, and speaks out.

"Yeah, I know," he says, but smiles. "But it's alright. I'm good. I can get by!"

I have to smile for him. I wish I could have been as happy as him, even after I'd lost my legs. For some reason, I want to cry again. But I refuse to. I simply stare at Nobu. His grin fades as he realizes I don't say anything. He pouts.

"Yah, don't look at me like that. Makes me feel like I should be sad," he crosses his arms. "You're such a kill-joy."

I have to laugh. Shaking my head, I sit down at the foot of his bed. I remember yelling at him that night, saying he didn't understand anything about what I'd been through. My heart twisted. I hadn't meant that he should literally go through it to understand. I felt at fault.

I want to comfort him somehow. I don't know how to, though. I look at him.

"You think the doctor will let you out for a stroll?" I ask him. He looks at me.

"What have you got in mind, sassy girl? Are you going to take me out on a date now?" he smirks.

"Something like that," I say, smiling. "Come on. Let's get you a wheelchair."

After getting Nobu out of his hospital gown and into a wheelchair, I pull on my jacket and push Nobu down the streets of Seoul. He's wearing his leather jacket, with a red fleece blanket in his lap in case he gets colder.

We stroll down to the park. It's dark outside now, and slightly chilly. But it's not too cold. I take Nobu to the aquarium, just because it's close enough to walk to.

"I've been to the aquarium a million times!" Nobu says as I pay the ticket to get inside.

"Now who's being the kill-joy?" I remind him. He smirks.

"Let's go see the dolphins," he says, and attempts to push himself. I laugh, and push him along.

We go to the hall with the dolphins. I'm almost afraid, surrounded completely by the giant tanks. I see all kinds of animals. Sharks, dolphins, turtles, fish. I have to wonder when the last time it was that I'd been to the aquarium.

"Bring me closer to the tank," Nobu says. I push him closer. He presses his ear against the glass, and smiles. He waves for me to come closer. I kneel beside him, and look into the glass.

"Come closer. Can you hear the dolphin's song?" he asks.

I press my ear to the glass. Nothing. I shake my head.

"Listen," Nobu smiled. "Really listen."

I try again. A faint echoing noise rings in my ear. I smile.

"You heard it?" he asked.

I nod, "Yeah, I hear it."

"It's a pretty sound, huh?" he asks. I nod again.

"My mom told me about the dolphins. I've always loved them. She used to come here with me," Nobu said, more to himself than me. "Before she died, that is."

I stared at him. He noticed, and shrugged, smiling.

"It's okay. I don't remember her all that well anyways. She died when I was little," he replied.

"Well, that's one thing we have in common then," I force a smile.

Nobu looks at me, but doesn't say anything. Instead, he smiles softly, and looks back on at the tank. I press my ear to the glass, and listen again to the dolphin's song.

* * *

TaeKyung doesn't look up from his paper as MiNam walks in his door. He doesn't have to.

"Go MiNam, come here," he says, gesturing her over with a finger.

"I have helped you organize your situation," TaeKyung says, turning in his chair to look up at her. He gasps loudly as he sees her pig-like face. She has her forefinger pressed to the tip of her nose, bringing it up like a pig's nose. He stares at her.

"What are you doing?" he shouts at her.

She looks away, red-faced, "I'm just pushing a pressure point."

TaeKyung stares at her. Is there a pressure point in your nose? He didn't know.

"Pressure point?" he asks, and scoffs. How ridiculous…

"It's something I have to do," MiNan nods. "Just keep talking. Don't worry about me."

TaeKyung narrows his eyes at her.

"Are you messing with me?" he scoffs. "Ah, you are imitating that pig that chased me. This guy like the rabbit I hate now imitates a pig?!"

MiNam flinches at my tone. TaeKyung almost feels bad. But he's more angry. How dare she imitate a pig just to mess with him! It's her fault he got chased in the first place. Darn pig…

"Don't you dare move your hand!" TaeKyung shouts as MiNam starts to lower her finger. MiNam jumps, blinking at him.

"Just listen like that. I'll kill you if you put your hand down," he threatens her. She pouts, but says nothing.

"Listen well, pig-rabbit," he says. "I'll tell you the path you should take from now on."

He picks up the paper he had written the situation down. He stands, and walks up towards his bed, continuing to speak to her.

"First, you should tell ShinWoo that you're a girl," he says. The words make his chest wrench, and he convinces himself it's in total disgust of MiNam liking ShinWoo.

MiNam blinks at him, confused.

"What? Why?"

TaeKyung tilts his head at her, "I heard you like Kang ShinWoo."

"W-what?" MiNam stutters.

"Of course, I thought it was absurd when I first heard about it," TaeKyung nods, trying to be understanding. "But thinking about it more, I could see how it could've happened. Now, if only I could understand what a girl like Aimee sees in him…"

"What?" MiNam asks again. "Aimee sunbae likes ShinWoo hyung?"

TaeKyung realizes what he'd just said, and tries to do some damage control.

"Nevermind that," he says quickly. He shoves the paper he'd been writing into MiNam's face. "I'll hand you over to Kang ShinWoo now, Go MiNam."

"It's not like that!" MiNam says. Her hand falls from her nose. "You've misunderstood! You-"

"Hand!" TaeKyung shouts, stomping his foot loudly on the ground.

MiNam puts her hand back up to her nose quickly. She pouts, saying nothing. So TaeKyung continues.

"There are two possible outcomes when you tell ShinWoo," TaeKyung says. "First, he'll accept you. Even though I'd feel sorry for ShinWoo, at least you get to be open about your feelings."

He thinks about Aimee for a moment. Had she been open about her feelings? But he shakes his head, and remember what she'd told him. She needed to 'grow up' and 'stand on her own'. He'd let her do that. Right now, he had to deal with this pig-rabbit.

"Second possibility, he won't accept you," TaeKyung continues. "Even though this is only advantageous for me, if something like that happens, you'll just have to beg and hold onto ShinWoo. If you were half as persistant as you were with me, I'm sure you can hold onto him."

"Hyung-nim!" MiNam cried. "It's really a misunderstanding. It's not like that at all."

"Still," TaeKyung sighed. "I'm advising you to tell ShinWoo. Work hard, Go MiNam."

He flings the paper at MiNam, who simply stands there and watches it fall to the floor. TaeKyung turns, and walks away into his bathroom.

* * *

I walk back up to the house, my bag over my shoulder. I'd already taken Nobu back to the hospital to rest. I drove back home on my own. I take a step onto the porch, but stop as I hear a voice.

"You want me to tell you the story of a really clueless girl?"

ShinWoo.

I didn't want to look. I knew he must be talking to MiNam. I bite my lip. I don't look, but I listen.

"This girl carried a really big secret, and entered a group," he continued.

"A really clueless girl?" MiNam asked.

"Yes, do you know how clueless she really was?" ShinWoo chuckled. "As soon as she got in, a member of the group found her out. But she had no idea, and kept on pretending."

"Why does the member keep quiet?" MiNam asked, interrupting the story again.

"At first, he wanted to watch just fot the fun of it. He was very bored," ShinWoo explained.

I closed my eyes, and bit my lip harder.

"But as he watched on, the girl just got more and more clueless," he continued. "It was funny, yet he pitied her. He was sucked in as he kept watching her. It wasn't his first time taking care of someone, but this time, it seemed different. And without realizing it, he started to help that girl out."

Not his first time. I scoff quietly.

"The girl should be really thankful to him!" MiNam said.

"That girl doesn't even know. Rememember, I told you, she was really clueless," ShinWoo replied.

"Then why doesn't he tell her?"

"It's for the sake of the group and her safety," he replied. "So he keeps quiet for now. But when the time comes, his feelings for her will be realized, right?"

I can't listen anymore. I stand up, and walk back to my car.

_For your sake, I hope MiNam realizes your feelings, ShinWoo oppa. For my sake, I hoped you'd realize mine._

* * *

I walk over to the kitchen, half-awake.

"Noona!" Jeremy grins. "Haven't seen you since you got back. How was Yeosu?"

"Could've been better," I yawn. "Any juice?"

Jeremy pours me a glass of orange juice and hands it to me. I sip at it and look around.

"Where's Auntie?" I ask.

"She's still away. Won't be back for a while," Jeremy says. "Are you hungry? I made some ramen."

"No. I'll grab something to eat later," I tell him. "Where is everyone?"

"TaeKyung and MiNam are shooting MiNam's music video with Yoo HeYi at a nearby high school. I have no idea where ShinWoo is," Jeremy looks around, as if ShinWoo was somewhere in the room.

Suddenly, the door to the porch slides open. ShinWoo steps in, a couple bags in his hands. A quick glance tells me that it's something in a box.

"Ah! There you are hyung!" Jeremy smiles.

"Why? Looking for me?" ShinWoo asks.

"We were just wondering," I say, and drink the last of my juice. "I gotta run. I promised to take Nobu out today. He's bored out of his mind sitting at the hospital all day doing nothing."

"Oh! Nobu. How is he?" Jeremy asks. "Is he doing alright?"

I nod, "He's doing good."

"That's good to hear. Maybe I'll come visit him too. We should bring him to visit MiNam and TaeKyung, don't you think, hyung?" Jeremy asks, smirking.

"We still have a photoshoot to go to today, Jeremy," ShinWoo says. "Don't you remember?"

"Ah, yes," Jeremy frowns. "What a bummer."

I think about it a moment. Would Nobu want to go?

"Why don't I bring him by later?" I say. "I'll meet you guys over at the shooting area and we can go see TaeKyung and MiNam together. How does that sound?"

"Great! Tell Nobu we look forward to getting together with him," Jeremy flashes me a thumbs up. I smile, but I see ShinWoo frown slightly. And for some reason, I can't help but feel smug.


	18. Chapter 18

"Nobu !" I swing open the door dramatically, throwing my arms up as I enter.

I look around, and realize I'm not alone in the room with Nobu. There are a few other people sitting around his bedside. I can tell one or two are journalists. I blush deeply, and shoot Nobu a glare for simply grinning with amusement.

"Sorry, I didn't think anyone else was here," I say, flashing an embarrassed smile.

"It's alright," I notice Mr. Kuang, Nobu's manager.

"Oh it's nice to see you again," I smile at him. He smiles back and nods.

"Well, excuse me you guys. Aimee is going to take me out today. I've nothing to do in the hospital all day, so she offered to take me out for a stroll," Nobu said politely to the others. Some scrambled to make room for me. The journalists crowded around us as I sat down beside Nobu.

"Just a few questions for you two," one of the journalists said. "You're Jung Aimee, A.N.'s dance choreographer and Hwang TaeKyung's best friend, right?"

"I am," I nod slowly. I could tell where this was going. She marks it down on her notepad.

"Are you and Komatsu Nobu dating?" the other journalist asked.

"A-ah…" I put my hands up, as if in defense.

"You were both seen recently at the aquarium together, no? It seemed like a date," the journalist stated.

"Come on, can't a girl and a guy just-"

"And today, you are here to take him out for a stroll. Is it really just being kind and generous, or are you really more than just friends?" the journalist interrupted.

I sighed, and opened my mouth to reply, but Nobu interrupted me by hooking his arm around my neck and pulling me towards him.

"I don't care what the public has to say. I don't need to hide it. She's mine," Nobu flashed the journalists a wink. They scribbled Nobu's words on their notepads and even took a couple pictures.

I was mortified. I shoved off of him. What was he thinking? Did he want a scandal? And before he even debuted? What the heck. I shot him a glare, but he smiled innocently at me.

"May we have a word with the _couple_?" Manager Kuang said suddenly. He ushered the journalists out, and turned to Nobu.

"Are you _trying_ to get yourself in trouble, Nobu?" Manager Kuang nearly shouted at Nobu, who simply shrugged it off. I stared at the tension between them both.

"First, you go and get yourself injured. You're never going to walk again. You won't dance. You won't perform half as well," Manager Kuang scolded. "And now you want to go create a scandal for yourself? Why don't you just run _me_ over with a car?!"

Nobu is silent. I bolt up from my chair.

"_Yah!_" I snap. Manager Kuang jumps back. Nobu looks up at me.

"You shouldn't be yelling at him like that. It wasn't his fault he got hit. And anyways, being good in the industry doesn't have to do all with dance. He has an awesome singing voice and that will carry him far. Who says he needs to dance to be big?" I'm fuming.

Manager Kuang seems to back down a moment, but then comes back up again.

"You're one to talk!" he shouts. "You were the biggest thing in your company. You went and got yourself ruined just like _him._ And now, you're nothing! People only know you because of Hwang TaeKyung and now, Nobu. You get your fame hanging off of others!"

"Hey!" Nobu shouts suddenly. We both turn and look at him. He glares at us both. "If you guys have shit to say involving me, say it to _me._ Manager Kuang, don't be targeting other innocent people. Grow up. And Aimee, mind your own business. I can defend myself."

Manager Kuang and I both look at each other, but say nothing. Nobu makes a move to get off his cot. I walk over and help him onto his wheelchair. He's already dressed to go. He glances at Manager Kuang, but says nothing to him. Manager Kuang simply watches as I roll Nobu out of the hospital bedroom and out into the hall.

"What was Manager Kuang talking about?"

I look at Nobu, who's staring me down. We're sitting at the park. It's a nice day out, so we just sit and watch the dogs run around and the kids laugh. I realize what Nobu is talking about. Manager Kuang had brought up my accident. I try to flash Nobu a smile, but it turns out uneasy.

"It's nothing," I tell him. But he's not playing. He's serious.

"It sure wasn't nothing back in that hospital room," Nobu says. I look away from him. I try to focus on a young boy playing fetch with his golden retriever, thinking maybe if I don't answer, Nobu will blow it off. But I should have known better.

"Tell me, Aimee."

I sigh, and look at him, "I don't want to talk about it, Nobu."

Nobu keeps a hard stare on me. Then, he looks away. He sighs, and smiles slightly.

"I like you."

His words hit me like a slap across the face. I don't know why, though. It was obvious. I stare at Nobu. He turns, and looks back at me, smiling. I don't say anything to him. I don't know what to say back. But Nobu goes on.

"I mean it," he says, serious again. "I like you. I know I'm not exactly what you want in a guy, I know. Trust me. I'm nothing like ShinWoo."

He chuckles lightly at himself before continuing.

"But I can try my best to make you happy. I promise that. I meant what I said in the hospital room. I want you to be mine. Will you?" Nobu looks long and hard at me.

I hesitate a moment.

"Give me a chance," Nobu says. "I know you love ShinWoo, but he'll never notice you. Just give me a chance. I won't ask anything else of you. I won't even ask for you to like me. I just want a chance."

I want to cry just then. And I almost did, for some reason. Nobu, that arrogant asshole I met that day in the restaurant, the arrogant dipshit who kissed me in the street and crashed parties…was sitting here, asking me sincerely and honestly to be his.

"Give me three reasons you like me, and I'll give you a chance," I tell him. He hesitates a moment. Looks away, opens his mouth, hesitates, and then looks back at me.

"I…" he started. "I…I don't have a reason. There isn't one. There's just something about you."

"See?" I sniffle, and shut my eyes to make the tears go away. "That's why you're impossible."

I laugh dryly, but Nobu doesn't. He looks at me. I decide to be serious. I ponder it a long moment. What he was saying was true. ShinWoo would never notice me, and I knew it. And if MiNam liked him back…what chance would I ever stand? I bit my lip. But did I like Nobu? I wasn't sure. I didn't want to say yes if I didn't like Nobu like that. It wouldn't be fair. I turned and looked at him.

"Komatsu Nobu," I say after a long moment of silence. He looks at me. I scoff and shake my head. "You're completely insane."

Nobu frowns, but I break into a grin and put my hands on his face, pulling him in and touching his lips to mine. I pull away quickly, with a red face. He blinks at me, seeming shocked. But his expression quickly returns to the sly smirk that he'd always have before. I look away, feeling slightly embarrassed, but nonetheless, good about myself.

* * *

"Noona!" Jeremy greeted me happily. He sees Nobu, and runs over, putting a hand on Nobu's shoulder.

"Nice to have you, hyung," he smiles.

"Hyung?" Nobu asks. Jeremy nods.

"Sorry we got on to a rough start," Jeremy nods. "But now, you're my hyung."

"Okay then," Nobu says awkwardly, but smiles nonetheless. He's in a good mood, too good of a mood, to be an asshole at the moment. I have to smile to myself. It's good to know that you put someone in a good mood.

ShinWoo walks up, and I see Nobu's smile falter a bit, but then, it grows even brighter. He smirks at ShinWoo and even wheels himself up to meet him.

"Good to see you," Nobu grins at him. ShinWoo narrows his eyes a bit, but then forces a smile.

"Same to you. I see you're doing good," ShinWoo notes, glancing at Nobu's wheelchair. Nobu nods, and I don't think I've ever seen him so happy, even in ShinWoo's presence.

"It's a little degrading though," Nobu adds suddenly. "I can't stand up to you anymore, _hyung_."

ShinWoo stares at Nobu a moment, pondering his last word. He looks up, and meets my eyes. I look away, and ShinWoo looks back at Nobu, who's still waiting for a reply. ShinWoo forces a smile, and seems to pass it off, that Nobu just called him 'hyung'.

"I'll be leaving seperately. Jeremy still has one more solo shot to do," ShinWoo suddenly says, and waves a quick goodbye. I resist the urge to turn and watch him leave. I have to remind myself. I have a boyfriend now. I have to move on now.

And that's the truth.

By the time Jeremy's shoot finished, it was dark. Everybody had probably already left the shooting set and gone home. Jeremy sighed, disappointed.

"Sorry guys. The shoot went longer than planned," he scratched his head apologetically.

"It's cool," Nobu flashed a smile. I was surprised he was still in a good mood. "We can go another day. I'm tired now anyways. Watching you pose all cute like that bored the crap outta me."

Jeremy blinked at him, then smiled as he realized Nobu was just joking. I was relieved. At least he and Jeremy seemed to be okay now. Jeremy was a good guy.

"In that case I'll take you back to the hospital then," I said. Nobu nodded. I looked back at Jeremy. "Dongsaeng, I'll see you back at the house."

"Alright, noona," Jeremy smiled again and waved.

Nobu and I waved back before I wheeled him back out to the car. I helped him get settled in, and then folded his wheelchair and put it in the backseat. Then, I climbed into the driver's side and took off to the hospital. On the way, I looked over at Nobu.

"I'm glad you and Jeremy got along," I say. He flashes me a small smile.

"Yah, he's never been this nice to me before. Probably just because I'm crippled now and he feels bad," Nobu joked, but I could tell it sort of bothered him. I shook my head.

"No. Jeremy's not like that," I tell him. "He's a good sincere guy, Nobu. And you're not a cripple. Don't say things like that. I won't allow it."

Nobu smiles and leans against the window, "Whatever you say, sassy girl."

* * *

On my way home from the hospital, I drive to the bakery and pick out a small cheesecake. It was a delicate white with chocolate shavings on top and was planted ontop of a stack of chocolate crumbs. I also went and bought a small card, which I pulled out my pen and scribbled a quick message on.

_Dear Oppa,_

_Happy Birthday. Take care of yourself and stay healthy._

_I love you a lot! =)_

_Jung Aimee_

I put the card in the bag along with the cheesecake. I get in my car, and ponder with my own thoughts. Besides his father, I was the only other person who knew that today was his real birthday. I was also the only other person who knew about the relationship between him and Mo HwaRan. But we didn't walk a lot about that. It upsetted him. I sighed, thinking about TaeKyung. Had I really meant what I'd said to him before? That I didn't need him? No, it wasn't true. I'd always need TaeKyung no matter what. He was like my spine. It was an odd thing to say, but for many years, he'd been what I'd stand up on and supported me. Besides ShinWoo, my Halmoni, Chin, and my dad, TaeKyung was the other person I'd ever really cared about.

I drive back to the dorms and go inside. I find Jeremy in the kitchen, devouring a creamed donut as if it were the most delicious thing he'd ever eaten. ShinWoo was making tea. I was surprised to see MiNam's aunt back as well.

"Ah! Auntie! You're back," I say, smiling at her. She smiles back.

"Yes, did you already eat dinner?" she asked.

"I did," I lied. I wasn't hungry, and if I said I hadn't, MiNam's aunt would pester me until I ate. I knew that. I set my bag on the kitchen counter for a moment and go to the fridge to grab a bottle of water to drink. I turn and find Jeremy poking in my bag.

"Yah, dongsaeng, get your nose out of my stuff before I kick your butt!" I tell him. He backs away, and finishes the last of his donut.

"What did you buy, Aimee?" he asks.

"Just some stuff," I shrug. Jeremy sniffs the air.

"I smell chocolate," he says. His eyes wander to my bag. I grab it and clutch it protectively to my chest as Jeremy dives for it.

"Yah! Back off!" I stick my tongue out at him. He dives for me again. I let out a girly scream and run as he chases me. I pray my cheesecake doesn't get squished.

"Jeremy, cut it out. You've got enough sugar in your system as it is," ShinWoo says, though he smirks. Jeremy pouts, but shrugs.

"Okay, hyung," he says, sticking his tongue out at me one last time. I stick mine out at him and run up the stairs to TaeKyung's room. I take the box out of the bag and place it on his table. I place the card on top of the box so that it stands. I smile lightly, and run my fingers along the edge of the white box. I sigh. I hadn't entirely meant those words earlier. I needed to grow up, but I didn't want to push him away. No, I needed him. I sigh again, and leave his room.

I go up to the roof, expecting to find peace and quiet so I can sort out my thoughts. Instead, I hear faint voices. I look over the edge of the roof, and see two figures hugging. I squint, trying to see who it is. I nearly fall over the edge as I realize.

_Go MiNam and Hwang TaeKyung?_!

A hand on my shoulder pulls me back. I swing around, and come face to face with ShinWoo. He looks at me only a moment. Then, he looks back over at the scene below. His face clenches, and I see the hurt on his expression. My heart wrenches.

I look back down. Go MiNam has gone inside. Hwang TaeKyung lingers a moment outside, and then follows. I look at ShinWoo, but he's already heading back inside. I grow angry, watching his back as he walks away.

"ShinWoo," I call his name sternly. He stops, but doesn't turn around.

"What are you doing? Oppa, is that all you can do?" I whisper quietly, but loud enough so that he hears me clearly. He doesn't turn around. "Stand quietly and bear it? Go after her. Tell her. If she doesn't come to you, _you_ go and stand by her!"

ShinWoo turns and looks at me. His eyes seem cold and blank. I've never seen him that way before. He opens his mouth, and slowly, the words come out.

"You know?" he asks. I'm not sure if he's asking if I know he likes MiNam, of if I know MiNam is a girl. Either way, my answer was yes to both.

"Yes, I know. I've always known," I tell him. "Don't you love her? If you loved her, you wouldn't just stand here and be in pain. Do you have the right to say you love her if you don't say anything at all, and just let yourself suffer?"

"How did you know?" he asked. I wonder if he's paying attention to anything I've just said to him. It was killing me. Watching him like this. I was dying inside.

"I told you," I swallowed back sobs. "I know you better than you think I do."

ShinWoo scoffs, a pained smile on his lips. He shakes his head.

"So I've been found out."

"I don't think you're listening to anything I'm telling you, oppa," I say, taking a step towards him.

"No, I've been listening," he says, turning away from me. "You shouldn't talk. You and Nobu are meant for each other. You wouldn't understand."

"Says who?!" I snap. He stops again. I take a couple more steps, closing the space between us. I want to grab his arm and turn him around, but resist the urge. Instead, I shout at the back of his head.

"Who are you to say I don't understand? Do you have any idea of the ache I feel everyday in my chest? You don't! How can you say you love her, if you don't even make the effort to hold onto her?" I shout. "Maybe it seems pathetic and laughable to you, but if you loved her, you'd try everything you could to hold onto her."

That's what I tried to do. Yes, it was. I held on at every corner and every sharp turn. I tried to hold onto him. And now, I was afraid. Maybe I was a coward for letting go now, but what was the use anymore? I just didn't want ShinWoo to end up like me.

"Maybe," ShinWoo replies after a while. He turns and looks straight at me. "Maybe you're right. But I just want her to be happy. And if she's happy with someone else, I love her enough to let her go to that person and I will support her and protect her every step of the way. Even if it hurts me. That's my love."

With his last words, he walks away. I stand there, alone in the night. After a long moment, I scoff. His love? I understood what he was saying. But it wasn't right to me. A single hot tear ran down my cheek. I brush it away quickly, horrified. Great. Now, on top of feeling stupid and ashamed, I was crying.

_Fuck my life._

**

* * *

**

Author's Note:

Yayyyy new chapter today! Hehe. OMG. ShinWoo deserves a butt-kicking . GoMiNam, you do too! And Aimee, URGGG. W/e. Oh well. Now, Nobu and Aimee are together. Let's see where that goes! Teehee. ;D Also…I made a trailer! Haha. I kinda like it ;D I think I put a big spoiler in there though . And btw, yes, I know Won Bin is a bit old to play Nobu…but w/e. Hehe.

Here's my link to the trailer—  
http(colon)//www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=42yNvNdCGw4

Btw, you guys. Here's a poll for you all. Please don't ignore this! Who would you rather Aimee end up with at this point? Just wondering. Also, I'm going to write an epilougue to this fic, so whoever Aimee ends up with, would you rather have the epilouge be about the wedding or a baby shower? ;D Your pick! Hehe. Don't assume anything yet though! I'll surprise ya! =) You're just helping me gather ideas. A little writer's block here, haha.


	19. Chapter 19

The next morning, there is a good amount of cheery chatter in the kitchen. Part of me wants to ignore and go back to bed, but I get up and walk to the kitchen anyways.

I walk in just as soon as MiNam's aunt smacks TaeKyung on the butt again and scurries off. I'm too tired to laugh, so I yawn loudly instead. Everybody, excluding ShinWoo, turn and look at me. TaeKyung shoots me a small smile for the cheesecake, but doesn't say anything.

"Ah! Noona! Come look at these," Jeremy waves me over excitedly.

"What is it?" I ask, and rub my eyes, walking over to his side. He shows me the pogs and stickers on them with little characters. I realize that they are A.. I nod.

"I've seen those before," I say.

"Really?" MiNam asked. I nod.

"Yeah, Nobu and I saw them in a gift shop by town," I grab a bottle of water from the fridge.

"You and Nobu?" MiNam asked. I realize I haven't told any of them about me and Nobu. Jeremy and ShinWoo knew I was with him yesterday, but they didn't really _know_.

"Uhm, yeah," I say to MiNam. I don't meet her gaze. She tilts her head at me. I didn't feel like explaining it. Not right now.

"We're even on pogs now," Jeremy chuckles, not even noticing the tension that was in the room a second ago. I let it off as well. MiNam turns her attention back to the pogs.

"It's kind of silly," ShinWoo scoffs.

MiNam grins nonetheless, "They say it's really popular with grade-school kids!"

"MiNam is going to come out soon too," Manager Ma suddenly says, his mouth full of food. "I'm in charge of the pogs."

TaeKyung sends him a death glare, which freezes Manager Ma on the spot. I shake my head.

"Go MiNam," Jeremy says suddenly. "Which of the pogs do you think is the best?"

Everybody turns and looks at MiNam. I put my water down. MiNam looks around uneasily, and picks up TaeKyung's pog.

"They say TaeKyung hyung-nim's sells the best," she says.

"But which one do _you_ think is the best?" ShinWoo asks. I sit down at the counter across from MiNam, but don't look at her. I want to think I have no interest whatsoever in what she's going to say, but I've never been that good of a liar.

"Out of these…" MiNam says slowly, looking over the pogs. After a long moment, she snatches one up and shows it to us all. "I like this one the best."

"ShinWoo hyung?" Jeremy says, hurt. "_Why?!_ Mine is cute too!"

I see ShinWoo smirk, satisfied, and I think about our talk last night. I shake my head. No. I don't want to think about it. No, I won't.

Manager Ma coughs on his food behind MiNam. He locks eyes with me and TaeKyung. TaeKyung looks away, sipping his water aggressively. I shrug at Manager Ma and look away as well.

"You really like ShinWoo hyung's the best?" Jeremy says, and it's almost like he could cry.

"When I look at it, I like the smiling face on this one the best," she examines the pog over. She picks up Jeremy's pog as well. "This one is cute too."

"Really?" Jeremy's frown turns into an all-out grin. "Then mine is second best?"

MiNam nods, smiling widely. It almost makes me want to puke. I try to push away my resentment.

_If I let it bother me, I lose_

I tell myself that over and over. But it does little for me.

"Doesn't even have taste in pogs…" I hear TaeKyung mumble under his breath. He storms out of the kitchen and into the walkway. I stand up and sigh, going after him.

"Oppa," I say, coming up after him. "Is something bothering you?"

"It's nothing," TaeKyung sips his water.

Before I can demand an answer from him, Manager Ma slinks into the walkway behind me. He puts his hands on his hips and looks at us both, worried.

"You guys heard too," he says softly. "She likes ShinWoo the best."

TaeKyung refuses to meet gazes with him. Manager Ma begs him.

"TaeKyung, please take care of the ShinWoo issue," he says.

TaeKyung turns and glares at him, "Why should I? Why don't you have Aimee talk to her or something?! Why drag me down?"

"Aimee is a girl!" Manager Ma says. "Anyways, you're the last. So you're the safest bet."

"Aish," I curse. "You guys are too fucking complicated."

"Language, young miss!" Manager Ma scolds me as I walk away.

As I walk back into the kitchen, I see President Ahn storm in. He sees me and flings a bunch of papers my way.

"What the hell?!" I shout back at him.

"You had to add on to TaeKyung's scandal didn't you? I'm getting a mouthful because of this!" President Ahn gestures to the papers. Everybody looks at me. TaeKyung and Manager Ma have come back in now.

"President Ahn, what's going on?" ShinWoo asks.

"You better find a way to clean this up," President Ahn tells me, ignoring ShinWoo.

"What's the problem? I'm not even that big of a deal!" I shout at President Ahn, angry now.

"Maybe you're not a big deal, but _he _is. And it's bad enough he got into an accident trying to come visit you in Yeosu. Now, this," President Ahn scolds. I could say something now, but I bite my life to refrain.

_Let it pass. Let it pass. You don't want to get fired. If I feel bad, I lose._

"N.K. Entertainment is giving me a mouthful. And it's bad enough. I already have issues with TaeKyung's scandal and MiNam's single," President Ahn continues.

My pride won't let me say I'm sorry, but it won't let me stand here and take shit from him either. So I turn and walk off into my room, slamming the door behind me. President Ahn is shouting out my name, telling me to get back over there, but I ignore him.

* * *

"Aimee! You get yourelf back over here right now!" President Ahn shouts.

ShinWoo picks up one of the papers President Ahn threw at Aimee. It was a printed article from the net. Reading the headline, ShinWoo understood why President Ahn was so angry.

'_N.K.'s pre-debut Star Komatsu Nobu seen with girlfriend, A.N.'s choreographer Jung Aimee'_

There were even pictures. One of them was a picture of Nobu in his hospital bed, holding Aimee around the shoulders. They even _posed_. Another picture was a kiss picture of them in the park.

Though ShinWoo had to admit he saw it coming yesterday when Nobu was so happy, he wasn't sure what to think right now. He had to shake his head. He looks up. President Ahn was still fuming.

TaeKyung walked over to him, "President Ahn. I will talk to her about this. Please don't worry about more than you need to. We'll take care of it. She's like a dongsaeng to me."

President Ahn sighed, "Alright. Only because I know you guys are like family. Talk to her. Bring that crazy girl around. I have things to attend to. Don't forget you and MiNam are still shooting today."

With a nod from TaeKyung and MiNam, President Ahn was out the door. TaeKyung and ShinWoo lock eyes a moment. Then, TaeKyung shakes his head at ShinWoo as if he were ridiculous. ShinWoo wonders what he did wrong, or if TaeKyung was just being an asshole.

* * *

"Go away."

My words are muffled, as I'm laying with my face in a pillow on my bed. The door opens anyway. I sit up and chuck a pillow at TaeKyung. He dodges it and shuts the door behind him. I hide my face in my bedsheets. I don't want to talk to anyone right now.

"Why didn't you just keep it to yourselves, Aimee? Why drag the press into this?" TaeKyung asked. I didn't answer him. He jerked me up into a sitting position. I glare at him. He meets my glare with his own.

"Answer me, Jung Aimee," he says.

"I didn't say anything to the press! It was Nobu," I say quickly, and duck back into my covers. TaeKyung pulls me out again.

"What are you going to do about it?" TaeKyung asked.

"It doesn't concern you. And I won't do anything," I tell him. He shakes his head.

"You're wrong. It affects us all in the end," TaeKyung says. I duck under my covers again. TaeKyung doesn't bother to yank me away this time.

"When will you stop acting like a spoiled child?" he mutters instead. I ignore him. He sighs.

"Anyway, MiNam and I have to be off to our shooting. Deal with your problems, Aimee," he says. "Stop hiding from it. It doesn't go away like that."

I listen to his heavy footsteps as he leaves. When the door shuts again, I let out a loud scream into my mattress. I'm so angry. This isn't anyone's business but mine. Why are they making such a big deal out of it? I have the right to be with who I want to be with.

Another knock at my door just sets me off more.

"_Go away!_" I shout.

"It's ShinWoo."

I hesitate a moment. Then, I shout, "So what? Leave me alone."

Of course, he comes in anyways. He sits beside me on the bed. He doesn't yank me up to face him. Instead, he just puts a hand on my shoulder. I want to shrug him off, tell him to go away. Tell him that this is partially his fault. I want to blame him for all the anger and hurt in me. Him and MiNam. I want to blame them. But I don't say a word.

"Don't get so upset. President Ahn is just stressed," he says, patting my back.

I don't say anything. After a long silence, ShinWoo sighs. He shifts on my bed.

"Can we talk?" he asks. "Not about Nobu and you. About last night."

I don't reply, nor do I stir. I didn't want to talk about it. Fuck it. Fuck it all. If he didn't want to listen, then whatever. I didn't care anymore. I just wanted him to go away. I wish I'd never met him. Maybe then, I wouldn't be in so much pain and I wouldn't be so angry.

"Please, Aimee?"

ShinWoo's voice is even softer than usual. I turn out of my sheets and look at him. He stares at me a long time. I look away from him.

"What is it?" I finally say.

ShinWoo breaks out into a soft smile. Then, he sighs.

"About what you said yesterday," he says slowly. "I've been thinking about it."

"What about it?" I can't help the snap in my tone. "I shouldn't have gotten involved. It's not my business. You deal with your love the way you want to. I don't understand. So I shouldn't have said anything."

My heart seemed to be twisting itself into a know with every word. I flinched, but ShinWoo didn't seem to notice. He didn't say anything anymore. I couldn't bear to look at him. I clutched my chest. Why did it hurt so much? It'd never hurt like this before. Hot tears burned my eyes.

"I think…" ShinWoo trailed off. He looked at me.

"Yah, Aimee, are you alright?"

I couldn't answer him. My chest. It hurt. I held the tears back. I bit my lip. It hurt.

"Aimee," ShinWoo said my name again. I gasped from the pain.

"I'm okay," I finally say. "I'm okay."

I stand up from the bed, moving away from him. He comes up behind me.

"Don't touch me," I say quickly. "Please, just leave me be. Don't touch me."

I'm still clutching my chest. God. My broken heart. It hurts like this. I slam my eyes shut, not wanting to cry. I'll never cry. No. Not for a guy. Not even for ShinWoo. I won't cry. Despite my words just a moment ago, ShinWoo places a hand on my shoulder.

"_Babo. _You idiot_,_" he says. "If it hurts, just tell me. How am I supposed to be a good oppa to you if I can't help you? How can I help you if you don't talk to me?"

My heart wrenches more. I sniffle.

"Just go," I tell him.

ShinWoo hesitates, but his hand falls from my shoulder. He turns and walks away. I watch him as he goes, like I always do.

"I'm sorry, oppa," I say softly, once he'd closed the door. "I can't do this anymore. The old Aimee is growing up now."

* * *

I help Nobu out of the car. He uses my shoulder for support as he climbs into his wheelchair. I smile at him. He shakes his head.

"This is so degrading," he mutters.

"Oh shut up," I say and start pushing him along. ShinWoo and Jeremy walk along side me.

"Ah! Noona! Let me push! I haven't pushed a wheelchair in a long time," Jeremy grinned. "Last time I pushed you along was-"

I elbow him. Nobu looks at us strangely, but doesn't ask. Jeremy smiles apologetically at me, and takes the wheelchair from me. I let him push Nobu along. It was almost strange, seeing a grown man push along another grown man in a wheelchair. It made me grin, despite being in a bad mood all day.

As we come upon the filming site, I see Yoo HeYi. She and her dress coordinators are huddled around in a group. I nearly passed them off, until something caught my eye. HeYi was holding a pink lipstick, holding it up. Her coordinators were holding onto someone. It took me only a moment to realize it was Go MiNam.

"Please, don't do this!" MiNam cried.

"Hold him!" HeYi snapped.

I break away from ShinWoo, Nobu, and Jeremy. I run over to them, and slap away HeYi's hand.

"Back off. He doesn't want to do it," I snap at her. I glare at her coordinators, who unhand MiNam almost instantly. HeYi opens her mouth to snap at me, but quickly shuts it as ShinWoo runs up to us. Jeremy is a bit slower, pushing Nobu along.

"What's going on here?" ShinWoo asks, looking at HeYi, and then MiNam.

"We were just messing around," HeYi pouted innocently. She looked at MiNam, "MiNam, I'm sorry. Did I make you feel bad? I just wanted us to get closer."

"A-ah," MiNam stuttered. "It's okay."

"Are you okay?" ShinWoo asked her. She nodded eagerly.

"Yes, I'm okay," she said. I backed away.

"Good," I said, and grabbed Nobu's wheelchair. I wheeled him away quickly, getting a sick feeling in my stomach just from looking at Go MiNam.

**

* * *

**

Author's Note:

Omg. Aimee, you totally suck. You and your messed up 'growing up' excuse. Lol. Darn. ShinWoo this is what happens when you scold someone without thinking xD It's okay. Aimee is a bit childish anyways. Blahh.

Hehe. =) I know you guys really want her to end up with ShinWoo, so don't worry. Nobu has his own importance in this story. ;D

Btw, here's the working link to my trailer-

http(colon)//www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=42yNvNdCGw4

And also, a new banner I made! Sorry, I'm a newbie to Photoshop-

http(colon)//sukidesu4ever(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/You-re-My-A-N-Jell-159912847

**Please don't forget about my poll!  
**ShinWoo or Nobu?  
Baby Shower or Wedding?


	20. Chapter 20

MiNam watched as Aimee strode away with Nobu. She pouted. Was something bothering Aimee? She seemed to be in a bad mood. But MiNam was very thankful to her. If she hadn't come, HeYi might have ruined her cover.

"Don't worry about her," ShinWoo suddenly said. MiNam looked at him. He gave a small smile.

"Yeah, noona had a bad morning," Jeremy said, chuckling nervously.

"Really? What happened?" MiNam was worried. She didn't want Aimee sunbae to feel bad. Sunbae was very kind to her.

"Later," ShinWoo shook his head, eyeballing HeYi and her coordinators. HeYi scoffed, and walked away. Her two minions followed her.

"What are you guys dong here?" MiNam finally asked.

"Ah, we knew it was the last shoot today, so we came to visit," Jeremy replied, grinning at her.

"You look good," ShinWoo complimented.

Jeremy nodded eagerly, "You're looking like a really handsome man today!"

"Did you eat already?" ShinWoo asked. "We were going to grab lunch with Nobu and Aimee, and bring you and TaeKyung along."

"Yeah, but now that she walked off…" Jeremy said slowly.

"It's okay!" MiNam nodded. "We'll go get them. I'm sure Aimee sunbae is still willing to come eat with us after the last shoot."

* * *

"What are you so pissed about?" Nobu asked when I finally stopped wheeling him away.

"I'm not pissed," I say, my tone casual. I don't look Nobu in the eye.

"You're pissed," Nobu insisted.

"Am not," I shrug. "I'm not pissed."

"I may not know you very well, but I know you better than that, Jung Aimee," Nobu crosses his arms and looks at me slyly. I look at him, and he smirks. I look away.

"Aish," I curse. "I'm not pissed. If I feel bad, I lose."

"So you're pissed, but you won't admit you're pissed because being pissed makes you pissed right?" Nobu said quickly. I blink at him.

"What?" I ask.

"Yeah. I knew it," Nobu grins. "Now, can we go back to civilization or are you still pissed?"

"Shut up, you," I stick my tongue out at him. He laughs. I can't help but laugh either. Nobu points a finger at me.

"You're prettier when you smile," he said. I blush.

"Whatever," I say and stand up.

Nobu grins. "But don't smile at anybody."

"What? Why?" I ask, confused. Nobu reaches up and touches my cheek. I stare at him.

"Because your smile is so beautiful, you're sure to charm any guy who sees it. So don't smile at anybody like that except me," Nobu winks.

I blush again, and pout playfully.

"Playboy," I say. He grins, and winks again.

I push him back towards the shooting area, feeling slightly better. My thoughts are still mixed up though. Seeing Go MiNam…hurts. Seeing ShinWoo hurts as well. But it's not easy to avoid them. That is, of course, unless I move back out. I wasn't sure I wanted to do that. But I was considering it. It was too much drama for me to handle. And I wasn't sure I wanted to throw it all into TaeKyung's hands.

I started to think about what TaeKyung had told me the other night as well.

"_Manager Ma says that Go MiNam's feelings have exploded…for Kang ShinWoo."_

I could see that being true. But then I think about the way MiNam watched TaeKyung and HeYi kiss on the stairs that one night. And I'm not so sure anymore. God. That girl seems to be more complicated than me. I tried to talk about it to her, girl-to-girl, but it was impossible. _She_ was impossible. Part of me can't help but be angry. Not only does she have everything I want to have, but she can't even tell me a single thing about her despite all the things I've done for her. I gripped Nobu's wheelchair handles so hard my knuckles turned white.

I concentrate on the apple I'm peeling. After finishing, I cut off a piece and pop it into Nobu's mouth. He smirks. I look up and watch, for a moment, the scene that was being shot. TaeKyung and HeYi close in on each other, pulling into a kiss. MiNam watches from the bottom of the road. I can't tell from where I'm standing, but I'm sure the way MiNam is watching them with sorrow in her eyes isn't acting.

I cut off another piece of apple and eat it. I chew slowly, tasting every bit of it. I cut off another piece, and hand it to Nobu, who pops it into his mouth. I look up again at MiNam. The thoughts from earlier start all over again. I start to cut my apple again, still looking at MiNam.

I gasp when I feel a sharp sting on my finger. I look down and realize I've cut my finger. I curse. I should've been paying attention. Damn. I should've never looked up at MiNam.

From beside me, ShinWoo notices my bleeding.

"Are you okay?" he asks. Nobu looks over at me.

"No, I'm not okay," I say and stand up. I walk away from everyone, leaving my apple and knife behind. My walk turns into a slow run. I want to run away for real, but I don't want to get lost, so I only run a few meters. It's enough for the moment.

"Are you okay?"

I turn, and look at Nobu. He's gotten better at wheeling himself around. I look at him, and force a smile.

"I'm fine. Just a small cut," I lied. I'd slit a big gash down my whole pointer finger.

"Let me see," Nobu took my hand into his. He scoffs. "Small cut my ass."

"Oh, whatever. I'm still breathing," I snatch my hand away and shake the blood off my finger.

Nobu sighs, and nods back to the shooting area, "Let's go back. I'm sure they'll have a first-aid kid somewhere for emergencies."

I'm not in the mood to argue anymore, so we walk back. The first thing I see is Jeremy with his arm around MiNam, grinning. I quickly turn away. What the hell. Jeremy now too? I want to kick someone. Whatever. Whatever.

_Be cool. Be cool. If you feel bad, you lose._

I've lost. Completely. I sigh, and push Nobu along. President Ahn comes up to us. I don't say anything to him at first, still not sure about this morning. But he flashes me a nervous smile.

"Please don't mind my tantrum this morning," he says. "I'm throwing a party for Go MiNam. Do you want to come? And Nobu, you're welcome as well."

"I don't know…" I mutter. I'm not sure if Nobu wanted to go. Especially since he'd just end up sitting there in his wheelchair. And I didn't really want to go without him, which surprised me.

"We'll be there," Nobu said suddenly. President Ahn grins, pushing Nobu in the shoulder.

"Okay!" he shouts in English and strode off. I have to laugh. Nobu grins as well.

"Are you sure you want to go?" I ask Nobu. He nods.

"Just because I'm crippled doesn't mean I can't party," he smirks. I shoot him a mild glare.

"I said no saying such things!" I scold him lightly. But we both grin.

"We should change first though," Nobu wrinkles up his nose. I nod.

* * *

"For MiNam's single debut!" President Ahn shouts loudly, lifting his beer. "Cheers!"

"Cheers!" we all shout in reply.

I lift my beer slightly, and then pull it back down to sip at it. Nobu sits beside me in his wheelchair, sipping at his own beer. MiNam sits at my other side, silent and pouting. I try to ignore her, but her bad mood isn't helping to make mine any better. Finally, I elbow her.

"Are you okay?" I ask. She looks up at me, startled.

Sighing, she replies, "I lost something really important to me."

"Really? Is that why you're in a bad mood?" ShinWoo asks suddenly. I turn away quickly. MiNam looks at him, completely forgetting about me. I'm starting to feel suffocated, with MiNam on my opposite side talking to ShinWoo. I snatch Nobu's glass of iced raspberry vodka from him and chug it down. MiNam turns, and sees me.

"A-ah, sunbae…" she says as I set the glass down. I glance at her. She looks horrified, and I smirk, shaking my head. She's thinking of the last time I got drunk with her. I stand up.

"I'm going to go dance. Come with me, MiNam?" I ask, forcing a smile. ShinWoo narrows his eyes at me a bit. It pisses me off, but I refrain from saying anything. I almost forget about Nobu, who can't dance even if he wanted to. I feel a pang of guilt. This is why I didn't want to come. But I shrug it off. I look back at MiNam, who looks a bit nervous, feeling the tension.

"It's okay," she says softly. I hit her playfully on the arm.

"Come on," I say. "It's a party for you. Have some fun. I'll help you look for whatever you lost later if you come dance with me."

"About that…" she said slowly. "ShinWoo hyung was…"

"I was going to take him to go look for it after the party. But thanks, Aimee," ShinWoo says simply. My brow twitched.

_Fine. Fine. Be cool. If you feel bad, you lose._

"Fine," I say simply, in a quick huff. "I'll go find Jeremy."

"Sunbae…" MiNam says softly, feeling bad. I ignore her and sidestep both ShinWoo and MiNam to go to the other tables. I find Jeremy, taking a shot. After he shoots it down, I grab him by the arm and start dragging him.

"N-noona!" he stumbles a bit.

"Come on, dongsaeng. Dance with me," I shoot him a smile. He smirks. Jeremy is a good dancer and it's not awkward between us, since we're good friends. I dance to the music, ignoring everything. I'm dressed a bit more like myself today; with long chain earrings and an off-shoulder red dress and black boots.

Something in me stirs, and I hurt a bit all over my body. I stumble a bit. Jeremy catches me and looks at me.

"Yah, noona, are you drunk?" he asks.

"No," I say. I'm not. Jeremy looks at me unsure.

"Let's go sit," he says. I don't want to, but he urges me towards the bar. I sit down on one of the tall stools and Jeremy orders me a glass of water.

"I'm not drunk," I insist.

Jeremy smirks, "Just drink the water, noona. I'm going to go back to the table."

I groan, but thank him anyways. He was just trying to help. I get another ache in my body. I'm not drunk. Maybe I'm just getting sick. I shrug it off and sip my ice water. I look back at the table where I was sitting. Nobu sits, looking bored and pissed. MiNam is still pouting. Automatically, I look for ShinWoo. I see him being cornered in the back by Manager Ma. I scoff.

Suddenly, MiNam stands up. She sits down at the bar, about three seats from me. She doesn't even notice me. I scoff again. Was I really so invisible? Whatever. I tell myself again, if I feel bad, I lose. But I know I feel terrible on the inside. Another ache. I chug my water. When I look over at MiNam again, Yoo HeYi is sitting next to her. MiNam reaches up to touch a pin in HeYi's hair. HeYi slaps her hand away, and says something to her. I narrow my eyes. HeYi's pin doesn't match her outfit at all, and why would MiNam touch her like that? I scoff. I should let HeYi devour MiNam alive.

I shake my head and scold myself. No. That's mean. Jung Aimee, you may be a bitch, but you're not heartless. You may hate Go MiNam, but grow up. Grow up. So, I take advantage of me being unnoticeable, and slip a few seats down towards them both. I sip my water, listening in on them.

"Isn't that the pin you saw me with before?" MiNam asks, her voice panicked.

"What are you talking about?" HeYi scoffed. "Why would I take someone's pin and put it in my hair? This is mine."

"It looks just like my pin…" MiNam muttered.

"Maybe they just looked similar to you," HeYi says simply.

I've never seen the pin before in my life. But something definitely isn't right. MiNam wouldn't lie. Yoo HeYi, probably, would. Anyways, despite her nasty attitude and fake exterior, she knows her style and that pin totally clashes.

"You lost that pin?" HeYi continued. "Too bad. You said it was your sister's. How could you have lost it?"

"That pin looks just like mine," MiNam insisted. "Can I take a quick look at it?"

"You really want it that badly?" HeYi asked, running her fingers over the pin gently, as if it meant something to her. The look in her eyes say something else. MiNam may be naïve, but I wasn't. HeYi was trying to mess with MiNam. I just didn't know why.

"It almost seems like you used your sister as an excuse," HeYi said suddenly. "You want the pin so badly, you'll do anything to get it back. You seem like a girl."

I freeze. Looking at her from the corner of my eye, I see the way she's looking at MiNam. I can only guess that MiNam looks pretty horrified.

"It's strange that a man would want a pin so badly," HeYi smirked.

This was enough. I laughed. MiNam and HeYi finally noticed me. I look at them.

"Of course he'd want it back," I say. HeYi glares at me. "It's his little sister's favorite pin. It's not the same thing to just go out and buy her a new one to replace it. Don't you have a heart? When you lose someone else's belongings, it's not that easy. So hop off his dick, would you?"

HeYi scoffed, "MiNam seems like a girl and you speak as if you were raised a barbarian."

With that, she got up and left. MiNam glanced at me, forcing a smile.

"_Komawoyo, sunbae_," she said. "You saved me again."

I shrug, and sip my water. I see she's got one too.

"You're terrible at defending yourself, you know?" I have to chuckle. She frowns.

"Yes, I know. I'm a total half-wit and I always cause trouble for you and hyung-nim," she muttered.

"Is that pin what you lost?" I asked. She nodded.

"But I suppose it wasn't mine," she sighed. "I should probably stop looking for it."

"If you want it that badly, then go find it," I tell her. "ShinWoo wouldn't have a problem taking you to go back and look for it."

My tone sours on my last statement. MiNam seems to notice. She looks at me.

"Sunbae…do you, like ShinWoo hyung?" she asked softly. I sip my water, looking away from her.

"Why would you say that?" I reply after a moment, trying to sound casual. "I don't. No. Not at all. I've got Nobu. I don't need ShinWoo."

MiNam doesn't say anything. She sips at her water quietly.

"Aish," I curse. "Speaking of Nobu I better go back before he gets too bored without me."

MiNam smiles a little, and nods.

* * *

MiNam watches as Aimee walks away. She'd said she didn't like ShinWoo. MiNam was confused. She remembered Aimee drawing all those sketches of ShinWoo in her sketchbook. She also remembered TaeKyung mentioning something about Aimee and ShinWoo. They'd even gone to Yeosu together. Could Aimee had been lying when she said she didn't like ShinWoo? MiNam shook her head. It wasn't her business.

"Go MiNam."

MiNam turns. Her heart jumps as she sees TaeKyung. He sits down beside her. She looks away quickly. Her heart was beating so quickly. She resisted the urge to put her finger up to her nose again.

"I heard you lost something," TaeKyung said suddenly. MiNam looked up, horrified. He already knew? He'd be angry if he found out she lost his pin he bought for her. She was afraid he knew, but she couldn't lie to him.

"Yes," she muttered. "I lost the pin you bought for me."

TaeKyung scoffed, and it hurt her.

"You really do uphold your reputation," he said. "You lose things like a klutz."

She knew it was true, yet it hurt to hear it from him. But she said nothing.

"Anyways, don't be too upset," TaeKyung said suddenly.

"It's okay," MiNam replied. TaeKyung looked at her incredulously.

"It's okay…?" he asked, slowly.

MiNam tried to answer strongly. She needed to be a man. For her brother's sake. She couldn't be worried about a pin.

"I won't go look for it," she insisted. "It doesn't suit me. I hope someone picks it up and uses it well."

Every word hit her hard, but she had to say it.

_For oppa's sake…_

"Okay. Don't go look for it!" TaeKyung shouted, and the sting in his voice surprised her. "The pin must have known and decided to run away from you. It'll probably find a better owner and live happily."

MiNam nodded, despite the ache in her chest.

She said, stubbornly, "That's what I'm hoping for."

"Okay, Go MiNam," TaeKyung gritted his teeth at her. "Don't you dare look for it then. If you do, you're so dead."

"I-I won't…" she replied, jutting her chin out. TaeKyung glared at her, before he stood up and strutted off. MiNam sighed, wondering if she'd hurt his feelings. She pokes the pressure point Manager Ma had told her about.

"Let's endure it," she said to herself quietly.

**

* * *

**

Author's Note:

Ahhh. MiNam, you're so silly. Hehe. And Aimee, you just can't help but help her out can you? I loved this scene. HeYi gets seriously owned by TaeKyung when he got the pin back for her xD

I'll keep posting these links up, for people who haven't seen them-

http(colon)//www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=42yNvNdCGw4 --Trailer

http(colon)//sukidesu4ever(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/You-re-My-A-N-Jell-159912847 --Banner

**Don't forget about my poll!  
**ShinWoo or Nobu?  
Wedding or baby shower?


	21. Chapter 21

"They're terrible!" Nobu complains, laughing as Manager Ma and a few of my dance students perform on stage. I laugh.

"Get off the stage!" President Ahn yells, jokingly.

"How can I watch this?!" Jeremy yells, horrified, hiding behind his beer bottle.

I laugh again. Nobu grips onto my hand, smirking and shaking his head as he watches Manager Ma and the students. Beside me, MiNam lays her head on the table, looking away from me. I see ShinWoo glance at her, frowning. My eyes lock with his a moment. I look away.

"Go MiNam, do you still want to go home?" ShinWoo asks MiNam. She looks up.

"No, it's okay," she mutters. I scoff.

_She really is giving up looking for it. Just because Yoo HeYi said to. Pathetic._

"Oh, Go MiNam!" Jeremy says suddenly. "Your nose is red. Does it hurt?"

I look at her. Her nose really _is _red. Maybe it's because she keeps poking it. I saw her doing it earlier. Why she did it, I don't know. And part of me doesn't really care. But her nose is really red. It looks like it hurts.

"You look like Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer," Nobu comments. Jeremy laughs.

"More like Rudolph the red-nosed pig-rabbit," TaeKyung scoffs, and looks away. I see MiNam frown. She bites her lip and rubs her nose.

"It does hurt," she mutters. "I should go cool it off."

MiNam sidesteps me and Nobu and moves out. She walks off. I scoff, and make myself comfortable, laying my legs across the spot she was just sitting in. Whatever.

Nobu looks at me, and notices my foul expression. He gives my hand a squeeze. I don't say anything. I just stare off into space. Nobu sighs, and decides to leave me be. I'm tired, and I'm still aching allover my body. I close my eyes a moment.

"Go MiNam! Go MiNam!"

The chanting ruins any chance of rest for me. I open one eye, and see MiNam standing on the stage, nervously clutching a microphone. Everybody is clapping and chanting for her. I bite my lip, and look away. I try not to think about my days before the accident, but I do anyways.

_"Go Aimee! Hwaiting!"_

_I grin, standing on the stage. I feel confident. I know I sing well. The music starts to play, and I sing. I sing my heart out, letting my voice carry. I look at everyone in the audience and think to myself, this is the life. Living rich, happy, and surrounded by people who love me._

"Aish," I curse for the millionth time today.

"What's with you?" Nobu asks. I sink lower in my chair, and shake my head.

"Nothing," I mutter.

'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' started to play on the speakers. I scoff. Of course. I don't want to listen, but I have no choice.

"_Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer had a very shiny noise,_" MiNam sang, her voice high and cute. "_And if you ever saw him, you would even say it glows…"_

Everybody claps along, smiling. Even Nobu. I sink lower in my seat. Yes, she had a beautiful voice. And probably, if she was to dress as a girl, she herself would be beautiful. She was innocent and cute, something I'd never be. Even if I wanted to be.

"_All of the other reindeers used to laugh and call him names. They never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games_," MiNam continued. "_Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to sa-_"

A loud splash sounded. I looked up, just in time to see a large amount of water get poured all over MiNam. I gasped. The rest of the audience also seemed shocked. The silence was awkward as MiNam stood on stage, soaking. She looked like she would cry. And once again, my heart went out to her.

"_Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight_?"

I look at ShinWoo. He stands, and walks up to MiNam.

"_Then, all the reindeer loved him. And they shouted out with glee," _Jeremy sang next.

I wanted to sit and do nothing. Let them handle it, but my conscience wouldn't let me. I stood at the same time TaeKyung did. We looked at each other. I looked away, and sat back down. I didn't have the courage to. Nobu looked at me. TaeKyung shook his head, and walked to the stage, snatching up a tablecloth on his way. He wrapped it around MiNam's shoulders.

"Let's go," I say to Nobu. He stares at me.

"Okay," he says finally. I wheel him out and we get into my car. I don't bother to say goodbye to anyone. But I can still hear the carol music blasting from the club.

* * *

I don't want to wake up the next morning. But I'm aching all over. I don't know what's wrong. I can't sleep. So I get up and decide I just want to get some painkillers and go back to sleep.

I find Go MiNam in the kitchen, eating with the biggest grin on her face ever.

"You're in a pretty good mood for someone who got a load of water dumped on them yesterday," I say to her. Her grin falters a bit, but she grins again.

"Yes, Santa Clause came for a visit yesterday night," MiNam said. I look at Manager Ma, who shrugs. I scoff and reach for the bottle of pills. I take two out and gulp it down with orange juice.

"Are you sick, sunbae?" MiNam asks.

"No," I reply. "I'm just in pain. I'll be fine."

TaeKyung walks in. He doesn't look at me. So I ignore him as well. He better not be mad at me for yesterday. I grit my teeth. MiNam is perfectly fine anyways. MiNam coughs a bit. Then, she lets out a loud sneeze.

"Looks like you caught a cold yesterday," Manager Ma says. MiNam sniffles.

ShinWoo walks in. He looks at me a moment, but then looks away as well. I scoff. What's with everyone today? I look at MiNam, she sneezes again.

"Go MiNam," TaeKyung walks over to her. "Drink some water."

"Go MiNam," ShinWoo suddenly says. "Do you want some warm tea instead?"

"Go MiNam!" Jeremy runs in. "The juice is here! Juice!"

MiNam blinks at them all. She looks to me, but I look away. This is pathetic. I really need to move out. I shake my head. Manager Ma looks at MiNam.

"Which are you going to choose?" he asked her.

"I want something warm," MiNam nods. ShinWoo smirks. He hands her a cup of tea. TaeKyung stomps away, gulping down the water MiNam rejected. Jeremy places his juice by her.

"You can drink this later. It's good for your cold," he tells her.

I shake my head again. I remember when they were worrying about me. When they still _cared_ about me. I kick myself. I'm not jealous. I'm not jealous. I'm _not jealous of a man-woman._ No, not at all.

I groan and walk out of the room. Jeremy calls me back.

"Ah, noona! Are you coming to our photo shoot today?" Jeremy asked.

I shrug, "Maybe. I don't know."

"You should come," Jeremy nods. "President Ahn said it'll be lots of fun."

I shrug again. Manager Ma looks at me.

"Aimee, can we talk?" he asks. I glare at him, trying to tell him no, but he begs me with his eyes. I sigh. We step out into the back yard.

"You know we've been asking a lot of TaeKyung recently. I think we need your help too, since you and MiNam are both girls. Try talking to her. It's too risky having her be with ShinWoo alone. And TaeKyung is starting to get annoyed with us, I think," Manager Ma whispered to me.

"Yah, Manager Ma, take care of your problems yourself. Don't drag either me or TaeKyung down with you," I tell him and scoff.

"I thought you cared about MiNam. You were like an unnie to her. What's happened between you two? You barely look at her anymore," Manager Ma asks.

I don't answer him. He looks at me. He sighs and puts his hands together to beg me.

"Please, Aimee," he begs.

"Why don't you just tell ShinWoo?" I snap. "I'm sure he's more than willing to protect her and her little secret!"

I storm off with that. What bullshit. No wonder TaeKyung was so upset. I was so done being a nice person. But yet, I can't help it. What the hell…I wanted to cry. But I knew I wouldn't. Manager Ma calls me back. I ignore him. I walk back into the kitchen, ignoring everyone's stares. I'm about to walk out again when my phone rings.

"Hello?" I try not to snap as I answer. I hear sniffling and sobbing on the other end.

"Hello?" I ask again. More crying.

"A-aimee…"

"Halmoni?" I ask. ShinWoo looks up at me, but I ignore him. My anger disappears. Worry floods through me. My halmoni was crying.

"What's wrong, halmoni? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Is Chin okay? What happened?" I ask.

"Your Apa…" Halmoni replied, crying.

"Apa? Apa? What's wrong with Apa?" I ask, frantically.

"Give me the phone, halmoni," I hear Chin in the background. Then, I hear him on the line. He sniffles as well. I'm sick with worry. Something wasn't right.

"Dad…" Chin sighs. "Dad's in the hospital."

"What happened, Chin?" I ask. "Tell me right now."

"He…collapsed. We're not sure what's wrong with him yet. I don't think he'll be okay though," Chin sniffled again. I slam my eyes shut. I let his words sink in.

"I see…" I say softly. "I'll be down as soon as I can."

"No, Aimee," Chin sighs. "You don't have to come. Me and Halmoni got it. Just take care of yourself. We just wanted to let you know."

"Chin, _I am coming_," I say sternly. I hang up and sigh.

"Aimee?"

I look up. MiNam, Manager Ma, TaeKyung, ShinWoo, and Jeremy are all looking at me. I want to scream at them. _Now_ they care? It takes someone dying in the hospital for them to care? Whatever. I ignore their stares and stomp off to my room. But they follow me.

"Aimee, what's going on? Is your dad alright?" Shinwoo asked.

"What was all that about?" TaeKyung asked.

"What's going on?" Manager Ma asked. Jeremy nodded, wanting me to answer.

"Sunbae," MiNam said softly. "Are you alright?"

"Leave me alone!" I scream at them. MiNam jumps. Jeremy's eyes go wide. I don't want them around me. My dad is sick. My Apa…

My chest heaves. I bite my lip to keep from crying. I want them all to go away. I don't want to cry in front of them. I won't. But they don't leave. I turn away from them. I kneel on the ground and grab my gym bag from underneath my bed. I stuff some clothes in it, not even looking. Tears blur my eyes.

_Apa…_

"_Get out_!" I snap at them all. Slowly, they back away and leave. I slam the door shut. Then, I fall on the ground. I crawl back to my bag and zip it up.

_Apa…please be okay. Please, Apa. You can't die on me like this. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry._

**

* * *

**

Author's Note:

OMG! Aimee's daddy! T_T Don't die! Aimee hasn't made peace with you yet! URG. xD So much drama for Aimee. And omg. Everybody sucks. No one notices Aimee . I know how that feels. Ugh. Whatever. Aimee says SCREW YOU ALL! xD She's more worried about her dad right now than you idiots. Especially you, ShinWoo! this chapter is kinda short xD My sis is nagging the shit outta me to get off =P

I'll keep posting these links up, for people who haven't seen them-

http(colon)//www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=42yNvNdCGw4 --Trailer

http(colon)//sukidesu4ever(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/You-re-My-A-N-Jell-159912847 --Banner

**Don't forget about my poll!**

ShinWoo or Nobu?

Wedding or baby shower?


	22. Chapter 22

I bite my lip, looking around outside the airport for a cab. I climb in the first one that pulls up and quickly tell him to bring me to the hospital. I all Cihn. He gives me the room number. I sigh, and look at my bag. I'm carrying the little box Halmoni gave me last time in my lap. I haven't opened it yet. I'd almost totally forgotten it.

When I arrive, I rush up to the hospital room. I can't help the ache in my chest.

_God, I know I haven't prayed to you in a long time. I know I don't have faith…but please let my dad be okay. Please let Apa be okay._

I see Chin outside. Halmoni is sitting on a bench beside him. Chin stands as he sees me.

"That was fast," Chin muttered.

"Are you kidding me?" I almost shout. "I thought I was going to rip my own hair out during the four-hour filght!"

I look around.

"Where's dad? Is he okay?" I ask. Chin puts a hand up to calm me.

"Aimee, dad-"

"Aimee!" Halmoni runs to me, hugging me and crying. I look back at Chin.

"Dad what?" I ask.

"Dad's a little…weird right now. He…had a stroke," Chin sighed. "The doctors found out that he's been having a lot of small strokes lately. We just haven't been noticing it."

"Don't you guys take him to regular doctor appointments? How could you not know? And dad didn't say _anything_?" I asked. Chin shook his head.

"We…don't have money for regular doctor appointments. Halmoni doesn't even get checked out. But it's worse for dad, because he drinks a lot and just lazes around, I suppose…" Chin explained.

"You didn't have money and you didn't ask me?" I scoffed. "Chin, this is my dad too. You could have just asked! I would've given you money in a heartbeat!"

"Dad forbade it!" Chin put up his hands on defense. "Dad wouldn't let us ask you for anything. And if we borrowed secretly, he would've figured it out eventually."

My heart wrenched. My dad hated me that much? He hated me so much he'd rather have died than ask me for anything? I tried hard not to cry.

"Can I see him?" I ask softly.

"I'm not sure you want to…" Chin trailed off.

"_I want to see my dad,_" I said sternly.

Chin nodded, and took me to the room. My dad was sitting upright in his bed, staring off into space. He didn't look up as we walked in. He looked so old. So much older than Halmoni. His eyes drooped, like he was sad. I didn't notice it last time I'd come to Yeosu, but he had gotten very thin.

"Daddy?" I said softly.

"Go away," he grumbled. Chin put a hand on my shoulder, but I ignored him.

"Daddy, it's me, Aimee," I walk over to him slowly. My dad shook his head slowly.

"No, no. It's not true…"

"Yes, daddy. It is true. It's me, Aimee," I start to sob. He still doesn't look at me. "Daddy?"

"No, no, no," he shakes his head again. "Aimee gone. Aimee not come back."

"No, daddy," I sit down beside the bed. I put a hand on his shoulder. "Aimee is here. Aimee come back to see you. I'm here."

He still doesn't look at me.

"Aimee sad. Aimee sad and mad at me. Aimee don't want to see me. Aimee think Apa doesn't love her. Aimee think Apa doesn't know she sing…but Apa know, honey. Apa know," he wasn't making sense anymore. I shake him on the arm. I start to cry for real this time.

"Daddy…" I shake him. "Daddy look at me."

He turns away and closes his eyes. I shake him more. I cry, sobbing and heaving.

"Daddy…daddy please," I keep saying, but he doesn't look at me. Chin is crying now too. He wipes his tears away and grabs me by the shoulders. He drags me outside the room. Halmoni holds me while I cry. Chin leans against the wall, crying to himself.

"Honey…" Halmoni mutters softly as I cry into her. I don't cry just for my dad this time. I let it all out. All the tears I wanted to cry. For ShinWoo, MiNam, TaeKyung, myself…everyone and everything. I let it all come out now. I sob and heave. I cry until my eyes feel like they're going to dry up and roll out of my head.

Hours later, I'm finally able to bring myself back together. I sit beside Halmoni, who strokes my hair softly. Chin has gone off to the bathroom. I sigh.

"Halmoni…?" I say softly.

"What is it?" she answers.

"Apa said that I think he doesn't love me. He said I think he doesn't know I sing…but he said he does know," I explain to her. "What did he mean?"

I looked at her as she didn't answer me. She sniffles a little and kisses me on the head. She shakes her head.

"You remember last time you came, you said you wished your Apa could have watched you sing? You said Apa never accepted you and that he didn't love you…" Halmoni sighed. "It wasn't true."

"What do you mean, Halmoni?" I ask softly.

"Do you remember your first performance? When you went to your performance, Chin and I sat in the front row, smiling and cheering you on. So many people came to see you that day. They watched you sing, smiling and loving you…" Halmoni said. I remembered. I had been so nervous. But I performed really well. But besides performing well, I only thought about how my Apa had refused to come. It had been so hard on me.

"Your Apa was there," Halmoni said suddenly. I looked at her.

"What are you talking about? No, he wasn't," I said. "He stayed at home, cursing me and saying I was a failure."

"No, Aimee," Halmoni sighed. "Your Apa was there. He came halfway throughout your performance. He stood in the back, behind the crowd. He sat there and he watched you sing. He did, Aimee."

My heart wrenched, and I thought I would cry all over again. I shook my head.

"No, he wasn't there," I muttered.

"He was, Aimee," Halmoni sniffled again. She started to cry. "He was there, watching. He loved you so much, Aimee. He loved Chin as well, but you, you were his little angel. He may have said things that hurt you, horrible things, but he loved you."

I started to cry too.

"He was so hurt when you left. But everyday, he watched you sing. He bought your album. He hid it in his room from us, but I saw it. He listened to you sing everyday and he would cry, Aimee," Halmoni continued. I thought I'd run out of tears, but more came.

"Stop, Halmoni. Stop," I say finally, not being able to hear anymore.

"I suspected he was sick, but he wouldn't admit it. He wouldn't let us bring him to the hospital until he collapsed," Halmoni sniffled. "It scares me, Aimee. Your father…he's so ill. Now, I'm afraid I'm going to go too."

"Stop it, Halmoni," I hug her, and we cry more together.

I cried and cried. Apa…Apa loved me. He did. I loved him too. I wonder if he knew that. I wonder if it's too late to tell him anymore. No. No. I can't think like that…

_Apa…_

_

* * *

_

My chest hurts so much. I want to scream. My head throbs. It's dark everywhere. I'm afraid. I'm scared. I'm frightened. I can't see anything. I can't even see myself. I can't see my hands in front of my face. I can't see my feet. It's too dark. Everything…I hear something shatter. Loud and piercing. I scream, but I have no voice. I scream and I cry. I scream a silent scream and cry without tears. I'm empty. Empty. No tears. No voice. Nothing. Just dark, emptiness…

I scream, shooting awake. I look around. It's dark, but not as dark as my nightmare. I bring my hands in front of my face and see the faitn white outline. There's no empty darkness here. But my chest aches. I hadn't had a nightmare like that since the accident. I want to call out for ShinWoo. Like the way I used to. When I was afraid and had a nightmare, I'd call for ShinWoo and he'd come to comfort me. It takes me a moment to realize I'm back at the house. Not my house, not the A. dorms, but my dad's house. I'm in Yeosu. Chin had stayed with dad at the hospital. I'm home with Halmoni. I'm sleeping on the couch. My chest aches. I curl my legs up to my chest. I can't even cry anymore. My eyes are so swollen from crying that I'm afraid I'll go blind. I want to close my eyes and pretend I'm not here, but I'm afraid of the dark emptiness. So I sit like that with my swollen eyes open as far as they are willing to. I sit there, clutching my legs to my chest, wishing that ShinWoo was there to talk me back to sleep.

Like the way he used to. Before Go MiNam came along.

I nearly fell off the couch as I heard the phone ring. I jumped to my feet and snatch the phone up. It must be Chin calling from the hospital.

"Chin! What is it?" I asked, m voice frantic.

"Dad's had another stroke…" were the first words I heard from him.

"Aimee! Aimee! What is it? Is it Chin? God…" Halmoni came running out the bedroom.

"Aimee? Are you there?" Chin asked. "Aimee. Please answer. Dad's had another stroke. Aimee?"

I fall to the ground. The phone clatters from my hand. Halmoni rushes over and picks it up. She listened to Chin, nodding softly and mumbling. Then, she hangs up. She looks at me, sitting sprawled on the floor. Halmoni puts her arms around me.

"The doctors say he probably won't make it this time," she says softly to me.

* * *

I push open the front door, gripping tight to my bag. I find Jeremy in the kitchen on my way to my room. He looks up, noticing me.

"Noona! What happened? Is your Apa okay?" he asked.

ShinWoo came down the stairs. I continued to my room, ignoring them both. Jeremy followed me. ShinWoo caught sight of me and came as well. They both poked their head into my door as I sat on my bed and unpacked what little I had brought.

"Aimee? Are you alright? What happened with your father?" ShinWoo asked.

"Is he okay?" Jeremy asked.

"He's dead."

My words came out flat and cold. Jeremy and ShinWoo exchange glances. Jeremy tries to say something, but stops. It's ShinWoo who finds something to say.

"When's the ceremony?" he asks softly. He sits down beside me, but I stand and walk to my vanity, pretending to have something to do.

"We already had it," I reply. It was a short one. Just a few people came. Nothing fancy.

"What? You did? Why didn't you call us? We would've came," Jeremy said.

"You guys were busy, I bet," I say, my tone still cold. They were both silent, which told me I was correct. They'd been busy. They wouldn't had come anyways. That's why I didn't call.

"Aimee…" ShinWoo says after a moment.

"Can you guys leave?" I interrupt him.

Both are silent. Then, slowly, ShinWoo stands up, and he and Jeremy leave. I resist the urge to watch them go. I close the door silently, and glare at the picture on my dresser. I hate our smiling faces. Mine, Jeremy's, TaeKyung's smirk, and ShinWoo's. I run over to it and knock it off the table, which was dumb, because the frame was glass and scratched me along the back of my hand. It flies into a wall and falls to the ground, a large crack across the picture. I look at it a moment. Then, I look at my hand. The big gash wasn't deep, but it bled. I stared at it. I sigh, and grab some tissue. I wipe the blood off and fall back onto my bed.

Suddenly, I remember something. I sit up and walk to my table. On the top of the desk is a paper. A music sheet. That old song I'd been writing. It still wasn't finished. It was halfway done. I look at it, reading over the words. I said them outloud.

"Do you remember when our eyes met? I remember when my heart fluttered for the first time. Although it may not have been a fateful meeting like in movies, you approached closer and made me dream…." I said softly. "People tell me, that nothing stays the same. Promise me that you wont let go of my hands…You can promise me that right?"

It seemed tacky to me, now that I read it. I was such a fool. Of course he couldn't promise something like that. But still, I kept reading until I'd read all that I had wrote.

"You are the only one I need. It rids the reason for everything else. I am fine with everything else as long as you are beside me. Even if the season or the world changes," I sigh. "I will always and forever love you."

I have the urge to pick up the paper and crumple it, but instead, I leave it there. I walk away, leaving it be by itself. I walk to my door and step out, nearly crashing into TaeKyung. He looks at me a long moment.

"You're back," he says simply.

I don't reply. I just look at him. Then, I look away, closing the door behind me. I walk away from him, ignoring the look he'd given me. He wanted to talk. But I didn't want to. Talking was the last thing I wanted to do. Especially with anyone in this house.

I step into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, the first thing I see is a huge bowl of limes. I grab one out and examine it, and shrug. I put it back and close the fridge. I look up and around to see if anyone is willing to explain the limes to me, but I see TaeKyung has left. Outside in the back porch, I see MiNam. ShinWoo stands beside her, placing a blanket around her shoulders. Jeremy holds a glass of what looks like juice. I grit my teeth and throw the lime back in the fridge. I suddenly don't feel like eating anymore.

I'm about to storm off to my room when something else catches my eye. Reluctantly, I turn my head back to look outside. Yoo HeYi stands there, smiling innocently at MiNam, Shinwoo, and Jeremy. I scoff. The devil itself has come to make this house worse than hell. I roll my eyes and ignore them as they walk in. I pretend to be interested in the contents of the fridge. I don't say hello. It's not like they notice me anyways.

"Where's TaeKyung oppa?" HeYi asked.

"He went out," ShinWoo replied. "You didn't call first?"

"I wanted to surprise him," HeYi smiled. "Actually, visiting MiNam was an excuse."

They walk into the living room. I close the fridge. I lean against the kitchen island, staring at the cupboards. ShinWoo walks out of the living room and sees me. He approaches me slowly from the back.

"I have to go out a second to run an errand. I'll be back in a bit. Could you go watch over MiNam?" he asked quietly. I don't turn to look at him. He sighs.

"Please, Aimee," he says.

"I'm sure Jeremy's got it covered," I say simply. ShinWoo lingers a moment longer, but then turns and goes outside. I sigh. God. Even when _I'm _the one with my dad dead, all they can worry about is MiNam. I want to scream.

But then, Jeremy walks into the kitchen.

"Excuse me, noona," he says, stepping past me and reaching into the kitchen for the juice pitcher. He pours a glass. "Do you want one?"

I smile softly, "Thanks, Jeremy."

Even this little bit of attention is enough to make me smile. I'm glad I've run out of tears to cry. If not, I might've cried then as Jeremy handed me a glass. He sighed and scratched his head.

"Yoo HeYi is starting to scare me," he mutters. "Do you think she'll hurt Go MiNam?"

I scoff. "Why would she want to hurt MiNam?"

Even though I know why. I don't say anything. Why should I?

"I don't know," Jeremy mutters. "She's just so…weird."

"Jeremy, you're weird too," I smirk. He smiles, but shakes his head.

"She's not weird in a good way though."

"Is weird good at all?" I ask, sipping at the juice. It's lime. No wonder.

I try not to think about MiNam and HeYi. I knew HeYi was here for a reason. I just didn't know why. I resist the tickling urge in me to go and find out. It's not my business. MiNam asked for whatever came to her when she stepped foot in this house as a man. She asked for it…

A loud crash from upstairs startled me and Jeremy. ShinWoo walked in. He heard it. He put down the bag of fruits on the counter, and ran upstairs. Jeremy ran as well. And despite my earlier attempts at convincing myself, I followed as well.

"MiNam, isn't that a little too far just because I touched your stuff?" I heard HeYi mutter innocently. I looked into the room from behind ShinWoo. MiNam stared at HeYi a while, and leaned over to pick up the broken glass cup that had fallen.

"Leave it," ShinWoo said suddenly and reached down to help her. "I'll do it. You might get cut."

I stood there and watched. Something in my gut twisted. My hands shook. I balled them into fists. I looked up at Yoo HeYi and found her staring dead at me. Her gaze slowly fell on ShinWoo. Then, she looked back up at me. I glared at her, and turned away and walked into the hall with my back to the room. Why look at me like that? Bitch.

ShinWoo came out a moment later. He went downstairs, not even regarding me. Yoo HeYi follows behind him. I hear a bit of their conversation. HeYi is talking about MiNam hiding something. ShinWoo buffs her off, not even caring. He says that even if MiNam was hiding something from him, he wouldn't feel bad.

HeYi scoffs, "What, does he think he's a saint or something?"

"No, he's just not you."

She turns and looks up at me. She comes back up the stairs, and scoffs.

"Oh, it's you just again," she says. "What, do you live here or something?"

"Actually, I do," I tell her. She pauses a moment, and then scoffs again.

"Okay. So, let's not bother to pretend. I don't like you and you don't like me. You know I'm a liar, isn't that right?" HeYi said.

"No fucking duh," I cross my arms over my chest. She rolls her eyes.

"You shouldn't be one to talk about me, anyway," she sighed, flipping her hair. "You're in pretty much the same spot as me, aren't you?"

"What?" I narrow my eyes at her.

"The man you like doesn't care about you. He only cares about that little she-he in there. Don't pretend you don't know about her. And don't pretend it doesn't make you angry. You _hate_ her, don't you?" HeYi smiled at me as if we were old friends. If it had been a normal day in my life, I would have gone pale and silent at her question. But today wasn't a normal day. My dad was dead. My friends didn't care about me. And today was the worst day _ever_ to mess with me.

"Don't act like you know anything about me, Yoo HeYi," I say simply, rolling my eyes.

"No?" she asks, innocently. "Didn't I just see you in the room there, clutching your hands into fists and fuming at the sight of ShinWoo oppa helping her out?"

I fake a smile at her, "Fuck you."

"Barbarian," she scoffs. I storm off.

_I never should have moved back into this crazy house._

I go back into the kitchen for no reason. Unfortunately for me, ShinWoo is there, lugging the vaccum towards the stairs. He looks up as I walk in. On a normal day, I'd offer to help him carry the vaccum, but like before, this isn't a normal day. I attempt to ignore him as he walks by. I'm thankful he doesn't say anything to me. I go back to my room and lock myself in.

**Author's Note:** ARGHH. Assholes. Well, Aimee sorta made up with her dad, right? Kinda? ER....yeah, haha. I didn't really like this chapter too much T_T Sad. Aimee, why are you being so cold? (Besides your dad dying). -sigh-.

Anyways, I might no update today. Spring BReak is near done and I still have other papers to do xD Been to busy with the fanfic. And got work to do too ugh. TTYL Loves! Leave awesome reviews.

I'll keep posting these links up, for people who haven't seen them-

http(colon)//www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=42yNvNdCGw4 --Trailer

http(colon)//sukidesu4ever(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/You-re-My-A-N-Jell-159912847 --Banner

**OMG new banner made by BeckZee! I LOVE YOU.**

http[colon][dot]com/24qlnwl[dot]jpg

**Don't forget about my poll!**

ShinWoo or Nobu?

Wedding or baby shower? (I'm leaning towards baby shower)


	23. Chapter 23

I hear voices outside. Looking, I see it's TaeKyung and HeYi. I shake my head and sigh. He couldn't even tell me they were going out…Why hide it from me? Whatever. TaeKyung comes in a moment later. He doesn't say anything to me, though he stops to look at me a moment. I pull an orange out of the fridge, not acknowledging him. He sighs and walks off. I peel my orange and peel the pieces apart. I pop them into my mouth, letting my mind stay blank of my worries.

Not maybe two minutes later, HeYi runs into the house again. I stop eating. Slowly, I follow her up the stairs. When I get to the top, I hear a gagging noise. I swing around the corner just in time to see Yoo HeYi clutching her stomach. TaeKyung and the others all turned to stare at her.

"Oppa," she muttered. "I came today to tell you something."

Everyone's eyes go wide. Even mine. HeYi gags again. Everyone freezes in an awkward silence. We look at TaeKyung, who seems confused and pissed off.

"Oppa, I'm so-" she gags, and turns, running past me to the bathroom.

"H-hyung…" Jeremy slowly turns to look at TaeKyung. "Does that mean we need to throw you a congratulation party?"

TaeKyung turns and glares evilly at him. Jeremy turns away quickly. I walk into the room slowly and look at TaeKyung. This was beyond disgusting. I mean, maybe it's just because he's my best friend, but seeing something like that is a bit…disturbing. But if this was serious…then something was definitely up between me and him. I didn't know he was _that_ serious.

"Don't you think you should go take care of that?" I ask TaeKyung. He glares at me.

ShinWoo imitates HeYi's gag.

"I think that's you," he adds. TaeKyung curses and stomps off angrily after Heyi. Jeremy, ShinWoo, and MiNam look at me.

"What?" I ask.

"Did you know about that?" ShinWoo asked.

"What?" I exclaim. "No!"

"You're his best friend…" MiNam said softly.

"So?" I almost snap at MiNam. Rubbing it in, much? MiNam looks away from me.

"You really think _that_ is what it is?" ShinWoo asks quietly.

"Yoo HeYi is an actress," I add, rolling my eyes.

"But why would she lie? Is TaeKyung really going to be a dad?" Jeremy gasps, and shakes his head. All of us turn as we hear MiNam's phone ring. She picks it up, slowly, as if afraid.

"Yes?" she answers. Silence as the other line speaks. "No, I don't."

Another pause.

"Okay, I'll do that," MiNam says slowly. I look at her. She doesn't meet my gaze.

"What was that?" I ask her quietly.

"Nothing, sunbae. Don't worry about it," MiNam muttered, walking away from me. I want to drag her back, demand what this is all about, but I don't. I turn, and get a nasty look from ShinWoo. It hits me hard. I've never been looked at like that by ShinWoo. I glare back at him and turn away from him. TaeKyung walks back into the room, shaking his head.

"She said she just wasn't feeling well. So don't imagine anything," TaeKyung said immediately, before anyone could ask questions. We all continued to stare at him. Jeremy looks him up and down. TaeKyung grits his teeth.

"Don't imagine!" he yells. Jeremy looks away.

"Anyway, it's between the two of you," ShinWoo sighs. "We'll pretend we didn't hear anything."

"Yeah, right," I scoff. TaeKyung shoots me a look which I ignore.

"MiNam, what were you going to tell us earlier?" ShinWoo turned to MiNam.

_What? Tell them something?_

I look at MiNam.

She stuttered, "U-uh…well, I felt really bad for getting sick and causing trouble. I just wanted to apologize to you all."

She bowed to us.

"You were sick?" I asked. Jeremy nodded.

"Yeah, he got a really bad fever after getting doused. But TaeKyung hyung took good care of him and he's all better today," Jeremy grinned at TaeKyung, who looked away with a red face.

_TaeKyung cared enough to take care of her and nurse her back to health?_ I scoff. TaeKyung wasn't an asshole, but that was more than he was used to. He really must start to care. I get a crazy idea in my mind. No, TaeKyung doesn't like MiNam. He's got a girlfriend.

"MiNam, it's okay. You were sick, we understand," ShinWoo said to MiNam. Jeremy nods.

"Go MiNam! It's okay! Everything is okay now!" he says. TaeKyung scoffs.

"It's not unlike you to stir up trouble," TaeKyung muttered coldly, though he smiled a bit. "So why bother gathering us all up to apologize?"

Jeremy grinned. ShinWoo smiled. They all nodded to MiNam, saying it's okay. My heart broke all over again. MiNam looked like she was going to cry tears of joy. She smiled at them all. She smiled at me too. Her soft innocent smile. My heart sank even lower.

It really is impossible to truly hate someone who's so naïve and loveable.

* * *

I walk upstairs, standing in front of MiNam's door. I decided, I have to talk to her. I need to talk to her. But right as I was about to knock, I heard a faint noise coming from TaeKyung's noise. I walk to his door and press my ear to it, listening.

"_What do I do? What do I do? You're leaving...what do I do? What do I do? You're leaving without me...I love you. I love you...I cried out for you…_"

The song stops suddenly. I hear a soft muffled sigh from inside the room. _TaeKyung._ I didn't recognize the song. I pushed open the door silently and see TaeKyung facing his wall, looking at a stuffed rabbit. I was surprised to see it had a pig's nose. _Pig-rabbit? _Was the stuffed animal supposed to be Go MiNam? I stared at TaeKyung, his back facing me.

"That woman who wants to remake this song…" TaeKyung mutters to the pig-rabbit. "Do you understand her?"

He sighed, "When I'm in this kind of mood, not you, but the _real_ Go MiNam is more useful."

I'm hurt. What was I then?

"Since when have you not been able to talk to me, and must resort to a stuffed animal?" I said loudly. He jumped and turned to look at me. He turned a bit red, but remained his cool expression.

"Maybe since you got a boyfriend and decided to push me away," he replied to my question.

"If I recall," I cross my arms. "You had a secret girlfriend before I had Nobu."

"You wouldn't understand," he muttered.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" I scowl. "Am I _really _that horrible? Had I not been so important before? I mean, seriously. Hwang TaeKyung, remember me, you're best friend?" I can't help but snap a bit.

"You were the one who pushed me away first," TaeKyung stood up from his chair.

"No. Ever since Go MiNam came along it's as if I don't even exist in this house anymore. Every day, I get told that I need to grow up and stop being childish. So I try that. I try to stand up by myself and not make trouble, but in turn I get ignored completely and then I'm told that I don't understand and that I'm pushing you all away," I start to yell.

"You've had a long past couple days. You should rest," TaeKyung replies. "Let me get back to my work."

"What work?" I look at his table. I see an album. I read the name clearly. _Mo HwaRan._ He sees me looking and snatches up the album cover, but it was too late. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Mo HwaRan?" I ask him. TaeKyung doesn't answer me. He chucks the album onto his bed and turns his back to me. I walk over and turn him to face me. He glares at me. I glare back.

"You said something abuot rewriting a song. Are you rewriting a song for Mo HwaRan? Why? _Why?_" I ask. He shakes his head and sighs.

"She asked me to," he said simply.

"So what? So you're just going to do it?" I ask, angry. TaeKyung wouldn't just submit like that. And anyway, that woman had no right to ask anything of TaeKyung. She wasn't a mother. She was a monster. But I didn't say this. Thuogh I knew TaeKyung knew I was thinking this.

"She's still my mother," TaeKyung looked at me.

"Since when has that mattered to you?" I retort. "Did she say something to you?"

"I…" TaeKyung sighed.

"So she did?" I scoff. That monster. "Is this why you don't want to say anything to me? Because I'll get angry?"

"Why _are_ you so angry about it? It's not your mother who abandoned you," TaeKyung muttered.

"Because I see it kills you," I reply, a bit more softly. "Because I'm your best friend. But I guess you don't think it should bother me, do you? Does that mean I'm not your best friend anymore either?"

"Aimee-"

"Whatever," I interrupt and walk to the door. I look back at him. "Write the song for her. Just make sure it's what _you_ want to do, TaeKyung. Don't do it just because she says something horrible to you. You know you deserve better."

I walked out, shaking my head. God. This house really _was _crazy. A he-she, an idiot, a damn kid, an ex-best friend, and a monster mother. Great.

* * *

I stare at the mirror as Coordinator Wang pins my hair in place.

"You know, it's not your job to get me ready," I tell her. She smiles.

"Yah! It's okay. We're both girls. We gotta help each other out. Anyways, I like you," she grins. "You're not like the other push-around girls. And you're still nice."

I have to laugh. "Thanks, unnie."

"No problem," she says. "Ah, done."

I look at myself. A short, backless, sky-blue-bubble dress with my hair down in their natural waves. I don't even care that I look pretty. We're going to MiNam's music video preview. I didn't want to go, but Nobu had wanted to go. For some reason, he liked hanging around the guys now. It was definitely weird. And he was less of an asshole. Not the Nobu I knew.

"Alright, let's go," Coordinator Wang smiles at me. I force a smile back and we go out to her car. Nobu was coming with his manager, who had apologized to me for his harsh words. Manager Kuang and President Ahn had seemed to tone the scandal down well enough. Anyways, HeYi and TaeKyung seemed a bigger deal than us. Thankfully. I scoff, remembering my fight with TaeKyung. I had little satisfaction that the boys wouldn't be coming, since President Ahn said they'd 'steal the spotlight' from Go MiNam. It was _his_ music video after all.

It was loud in the conference room. Everything was set and most seats were taken now. Cameras flashed while reporters darted around, asking questions. I ignored any microphone shoved in my face and kept my head down from cameras. I saw Nobu on the other end of the conference room, in the first row. He looked up and saw me. He waved a bit. I smiled back.

"Unnie, my seat is by Nobu. I'll see you after the show," I tell Coordinator Wang.

"Oh, of course," she smiled and walked off to the other side.

I look back into the crowd and make my way to Nobu. I pass Yoo HeYi in the first row, who smirks at me. I roll my eyes, and smile as I come up to Nobu. I sit down next to him. He pats my leg.

"Where are the guys?" he asks.

"They're not coming. President Ahn didn't want them to steal the spotlight," I tell Nobu, who shrugs.

"Bummer," he says. Nobu looks at his watch. "Yah, it's time. Why aren't we starting?"

"I don't know," I mutter, looking around.

Suddenly, President Ahn comes running up to me, looking horrified.

"Aimee! Where's Go MiNam?! Where is he?!" President Ahn exclaims.

"What do you mean? He's not here yet?" I ask.

"No! He's not with Manager Ma anymore. Do you know where he could be?" President Ahn asks. I shake my head.

"No, I have no idea," I tell him. He runs off, nearly tripping over himself. Nobu and I exchange glances. This wasn't good. Go MiNam, if you want to ruin yourself, do it _yourself_. What was that girl up to? I looked at Nobu.

"I'll go have a quick look around," I tell him.

"Okay," he says. "Stay away from reporters."

"Duh," I smile at him a bit. He smiles back.

I go into the lobby. I don't see anything. I take out my phone and start to dial TaeKyung when he calls me. I pick up.

"Yeobosayo?" I answer.

"Go MiNam-"

"I know," I sigh. "President Ahn told me. I'm looking for him at the conference here, but it's too crowded."

"Aimee, listen to me," TaeKyung sounds panicked. "MiNam…he…_she_ is…"

He doesn't continue. It takes me a moment to realize what he's saying. _She._ She?!

"TaeKyung you can't possibly mean…" I stutter. "Is she fucking crazy?!"

"I don't know. It's just a hunch. Look for a girl in a pink skirt and an ivory jacket," TaeKyung said quickly. I sighed. "I'm on my way with ShinWoo and Jeremy."

"Got it," I said and hung up. I glanced around, but didn't see anything.

A couple minutes later the guys showed up. ShinWoo, TaeKyung, and I all locked eyes while Jeremy looked around, confused and worried. Neither ShinWoo, nor I said a word to each other, though.

"Did you find Go MiNam?" TaeKyung asked.

"Not a single glimpse," I shook my head. "We should go back inside now."

We head back to the conference room. Everyone has gathered, ready and waiting for Go MiNam. I sighed.

"MiNam is supposed to start the conference with a speech," I tell them. "But he's not here. What will they do?"

As if answering me, the lights turned off and a voice on the intercom said, "We'll begin the A. music video now."

"They swapped the order," ShinWoo said.

TaeKyung grabbed my arm. "I can't see anything."

_Crap_. His night-blindness. Jeremy and ShinWoo looked at him.

"What?" Jeremy asked.

"I can't see a thing in the dark," he cursed. Jeremy, ShinWoo, and I exchanged glances.

"You will have to look for Go MiNam," TaeKyung sighed.

"We will," Jeremy said, nodding. He started off. TaeKyung grabbed him back. He hesitated. I know why. I scoff.

"TaeKyung, we _have_ to tell them if we're going to find MiNam," I say.

"What?" ShinWoo looks at me. I ignore his looks. He hadn't known TaeKyung knew.

TaeKyung sighed, "Look for a girl…a girl in an ivory jacket and a pink skirt."

"What? I thought we were looking for Go MiNam?" Jeremy was confused.

ShinWoo was silent.

"Go MiNam is that girl," I say, since TaeKyung was hesitating too long. Jeremy gasps. ShinWoo is still silent. TaeKyung sighed again. He was pointless. I stepped in once more.

"We don't have time to explain. We have to hurry and find her," I said.

"I'll look outside," TaeKyung said. I nodded, and yanked Jeremy and Shinwoo out of their trances. We split up and looked about in the conference room. It was hard in the dark, but still possible. I searched, cursing under my breath.

I felt someone grab me as I ran past. I looked. It was Nobu.

"What's going on?" Nobu asked.

"I don't have time to explain. I have to find Go MiNam," I say, rushed, and break away from him.

I walk quickly through the crowd, looking around. I don't see someone in front of me. I crash into them. Luckily, it's just ShinWoo, who turns and catches me before I fall. He grips tightly to my arm. I catch my balance, pushing him away slightly.

"I told you not to be where I can't see you!"

ShinWoo and I turn as we hear TaeKyung's voice booming. I catch sight of a white jacket. It must be her. I yank on ShinWoo's arm.

"There!" I whisper harshly. He turns, and runs to her.

The lights turn on immediately. Everything blurs a moment, with the sudden change from dark to light. Once it had cleared up, the first thing I saw was ShinWoo, clutching onto a young girl in an ivory jacket and a pink skirt. Her face was buried into the crook of his neck. He had an arm around her back and another hand on the back of her head. Something in my gut twisted.

Suddenly, Nobu was up beside me in his wheelchair, along with Manager Kuang. Nobu looked up at me. I kept my gaze fixed on the scene of ShinWoo holding MiNam. Reporters ran at them, flashing their cameras and shouting out a flurry of questions.

"Aimee…" Nobu said, but I didn't hear him.

ShinWoo looked up. He looked at TaeKyung, and then, he turned and locked eyes with me. It seemed a long moment, that we stared at each other. I gritted my teeth. Finally, he broke the stare. He looked to the reporters.

"She's my girl," he said suddenly. "I couldn't talk about it before…but she's my girl."

Then, my heart didn't even break. It burst. I felt as if my chest had exploded and everyone could see everything I had hidden so safely away in it. Everything poured out, like a floodgate in that moment. All the memories, all the moments…My heart exploded then, and a single hot tear ran down my face. I turned away and stomped out, leaving behind both the scene and Nobu.

I waited in the back dressing room, where I knew they would come. And soon enough, MiNam and ShinWoo burst through the door. ShinWoo didn't look at me. I didn't look at him. I simply looked at the girl in the skirt, with a black suit jacket draped over her head.

"I'm sorry," MiNam said suddenly. "I know you and sunbae are both here. And I know that if you looked at me, you'll both probably be very angry. I lied. I'm not a man. I don't dare ask forgiveness from either one of you."

I grit my teeth, walked over, and snatched the jacket off her head. ShinWoo looked at me, his eyes wide. MiNam looked up at me, then ShinWoo, then ducked her head in shame again as I glared at her.

"You…" I started. But I couldn't finish. What could I say? I hate you? I despise you? You almost ruined everything? You almost ruined me and TaeKyung? You betrayed me? I didn't know. MiNam simply kept her head low. ShinWoo looked at me, but I didn't look at him. I just glared at MiNam. Not knowing what to say, I turned away, my back to them.

"What about you then, ShinWoo hyung?" I heard MiNam ask softly. A sigh from ShinWoo.

"What should I say?" he replied. "This is too sudden. I don't know what I should say to you. I didn't expect such a situation."

I balled my hands into fists. Did he still intend not to tell her? Fool. Idiot.

"Should I get angry?" ShinWoo continued. "It'd be awkward if I said it's alright."

"You…!" I turn again to face them. They both look at me. I'm at a loss for words again.

"Why did you have to do something like this?" I snapped at her. "You could've caused a real riot doing something like this. Why, if you wanted to go back, why could you just do it quietly?"

"Aimee," ShinWoo said. I glared at him. I was about to shout out, shout out everything I knew about him knowing about MiNam, when he silenced me with a look. I hated him. I hate him. He looked back at MiNam. He scoffed.

"Wow," he said. "This _is _really ridiculous."

"I know," MiNam said, her voice full of shame.

ShinWoo smirked a little, "Let me make sure again. Lift your head."

I couldn't help but look as she slowly lifted her head up. Her short boy-like hair was curled to be even shorter, but styled nicely around her ears to frame her face. Her makeup was done up. She was biting her glossed lips, looking at me, then ShinWoo. She was pretty.

"You really _are_ a girl," ShinWoo chuckled. "You're really beautiful. How could I not have known all this while?"

I was growing sick in my stomach, listening to this. Listening to him play around like this. I really thought I was going to puke.

"I'm really sorry," MiNam said. "You treated me well. I wanted to tell you, but instead, I kept you in the dark. I'm really sorry."

_So she really wanted to tell him…_

"Only TaeKyung and Aimee knew. They protected me well. I'm really sorry, sunbae. I know you must feel really betrayed now. After all the trouble you went through to try to protect me, I did something like this and only caused more trouble," she bowed to us both.

"Whatever the case, Go MiNam," ShinWoo's tone was a bit cold. "My being a good hyung to you has now ended."

MiNam looked up, horrified and ashamed. But ShinWoo smiled at her.

"Now, we can start afresh," ShinWoo added. MiNam gave him a thankful smile. Then, she looked to me. Was she wanting something like that from me as well? Fuck that. Screw that. No. No. I looked away from her, not saying anything. She frowned.

A loud pounding on the door made us all jump.

"Noona! Hyung! Open the door!" Jeremy shouted through the door. I walked over, unlocked it, and opened the door. Jeremy and TaeKyung rushed in and I slammed it shut after them. When I turned, I saw Jeremy standing before MiNam, glaring at her.

"As you can see, MiNam is a girl. Aimee and I have known this for a while," TaeKyung said softly, trying to soften the blow. "We're sorry for not letting you both know sooner."

"If you can't handle this, speak up," I added, crossing my arms. "No one is asking for your help. We won't drag you into this."

I ignore the look I get from ShinWoo.

"We will take responsibility for Go MiNam," TaeKyung added. I shot him a look, but he wasn't looking at me. There's no _we_ in this. I want to say so, but I don't.

"I'm fine with this," ShinWoo answers, looking at TaeKyung, who sighed.

"ShinWoo's okay. What about you, Jeremy?" he asked. We all looked at Jeremy, who was still glaring at MiNam.

"Go MiNam," Jeremy said, his voice colder than I've ever heard it before. "You're a girl. You're a girl!"

He snapped at her. Part of me hopes he'll say something nasty, but I still can't help the other part of me that hopes he doesn't. Suddenly, he grabs her by the shoulders. I almost shoot forward and pull her away, but refrain.

But instead of hitting her, or screaming at her, like I thought he would, he reached forward and kissed her on the forehead. Everybody was silent with shock.

"Go MiNam! You're a girl! I totally do _not_ mind!" Jeremy jumps up and down, grinning bigger than I ever thought he had before. I'm sick to my stomach all over again. Jeremy throws up his arms to embrace MiNam, but TaeKyung and ShinWoo pull him away. I walk over, and nudge MiNam, who seems in a trance.

"If everyone is okay with it-" TaeKyung said, and opened his mouth to continue.

"_I'm_ not okay with it!" I shout suddenly. Everyone stops, and looks at me. "There is _nothing_ okay with this situation!"

I sigh. Do I really want to say this? Suddenly, I'm not so sure. I look at them.

"How are we going to get out of this mess?" I say, a little softer. "Everyone out there is looking for ShinWoo's girlfriend and we still don't have Go MiNam. And ShinWoo's _girlfriend _here can't just disappear into thin air."

"She's right," ShinWoo nods. "We'll have to figure something out."

TaeKyung thinks a moment. Then, he looks up at me.

"Aimee, take off your clothes," he says suddenly.

"_Excuse me?_" I say. Everyone looks at him as if he's crazy. He shakes his head.

"No, I mean, take MiNam's clothes. ShinWoo, go get Manager Ma. We'll smuggle you out, hiding you from the press making it look like ShinWoo's girlfriend is leaving. Then, we'll get MiNam ready," TaeKyung explained. I narrowed my eyes at him, but grabbed MiNam and yanked her into the back changing room.

I sure didn't like this, but there was no other way.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Note:**

Oh wow. Long chapter. Poor Aimee. That must be hard for her to see, ShinWoo holding MiNam. Urgg. Whatever! Lol. And omg. Aimee. What about NOBU?! .

I'll keep posting these links up, for people who haven't seen them-

http(colon)//www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=42yNvNdCGw4 --Trailer

http(colon)//sukidesu4ever(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/You-re-My-A-N-Jell-159912847 --Banner

**OMG new banner made by BeckZee! I LOVE YOU.**

http[colon][dot]com/24qlnwl[dot]jpg

**Don't forget about my poll!**

ShinWoo or Nobu?

Wedding or baby shower? (I'm leaning towards baby shower)


	24. Chapter 24

I stand in the middle of MiNam's room, staring at the neat pile I'd made of her clothes on her bed. Who had bought her those clothes? ShinWoo? Most likely. I imagined the scene of them, holding again. His words rung in my ears so loudly that I thought my eardrums would pop and bleed away…

"_She's my girl. I couldn't talk about it before…but she's my girl."_

I jump as I hear the doorbell ring. They couldn't be back already. They wouldn't be. I sighed and went downstairs anyway. I'd changed into long pajama pants and a beater. I'd washed all my makeup off. After Manager Ma smuggled me out, I'd decided to not go back. Too much shit to deal with. So I came home.

I opened the door and to my surprise, Nobu sat before me on his wheelchair, a tall older man standing beside him. Nobu grinned at me.

"Yo," he waved, and wheeled himself inside. He looked to the older man.

"Butler Lee, you can go. Aimee will take good care of me," Nobu was all smiles. The older man nodded. Butler Lee? The man looked nothing like a butler. Not that Nobu had a butler.

"Have fun," he smirked a little to us before heading back to the car.

"Butler?" I ask, as I close the door behind the man. Nobu grins.

"Manager Kuang hired him as my caretaker. He's cool. Not really a butler, but he might as well be one with all the stuff he does for me. So I just call him Butler Lee," Nobu nods childishly with each word. I shake my head at him, slightly amused.

"Anyway!" Nobu exclaims suddenly, rolling into the living room. "Enough about me. Why did you just suddenly leave like that? I was worrying."

"Aww, sweet," I said, half-sarcastically. He smirked.

"Answer me, Aimee."

"How did you know I had left?" I asked instead.

Nobu shrugged, "I found TaeKyung in the backroom."

I thought about it a moment. If TaeKyung hadn't told him, then TaeKyung didn't want him to know. I suppose I still had a part in this to keep quiet, though my heart wanted to scream the secret to the world. I shrugged at Nobu.

"I wasn't feeling good. That's all," I tell him. He looks at me a moment. I look away, red-faced. Could he tell I was lying?

"Fair enough," he shrugs. I let out a silent breath. Even if he knew, at least he wasn't pestering me about it.

"So…" I say, after a long awkward silence.

"So," he replies, with a sigh. Then, he smirks. "Wanna watch a movie?"

"What movie?" I ask. He shrugs.

"Pick something," he says. I shrug.

"Okay, you asked for it," I skip into the living room. He followed in his wheelchair. I pulled out my favorite movie of all time. _200-Pound Beauty._ It always moved me to tears! Although, I didn't count those tears as tears. Not really. It was my favorite movie of all time since it came out. I'd bought it and me and the guys had watched it together. Though TaeKyung and ShinWoo seemed irked by it, Jeremy and I managed to cry to it. I smiled, thinking about those times.

I looked back at Nobu as I heard him groan. He plopped himself onto the couch, using his arms. He adjusted his legs to a comfortable spot and then spread his hands out beneath his head, grinning. I laughed lightly and put the DVD on.

"I'll go grab some snacks," I tell him. I run to the kitchen and grab whatever I thought we'd eat. Which was probably too much, since when I got back, Nobu looked at me with big eyes and said only one word.

"Fatass," he smirked.

"Shut up!" I blush. I was stressed. And I was a stress-eater. I put down the two beers, two sodas, chips, nacho cheese, and twinkies. Then, I plop down on the opposite side of the couch from him. Nobu shoots me a strange look. I ignore it.

About halfway throughout the movie, after eating half the snacks, Nobu calls me. I look at him.

"Can you get me a water?" he asks, feigning a sweet smile. I roll my eyes.

"Drink a beer. Or a soda," I tell him, and turn back to my movie.

"I want a water though," he smiles. I'm about to tell him to get one himself, but I catch myself. Of course. He can't. But I was sure he'd still ask me to get it for him even if he wasn't…well, in his condition. I stand up to get his water.

As I pass by, he reaches out with his arms and grabs me by the waist, pulling me down back onto his lap. I let out a small shriek and fight to get away from him, but he holds onto me tightly. Not tight enough to hurt, but just tightly. I stop fighting after a moment.

"Harrassment!" I shout.

"Shut up," he says, but he says it softly. "Just let me hold you."

I try to look back at him, and shoot him a delirious look, but he has me pressed against him. He shifts, so I can lay back more comforably. But I don't move. The feeling of his arms around me is a weird feeling. Despite myself, I close my eyes and I think about that night in Yeosu.

"_Could you hold me in your arms, for just a moment?"_

I had asked ShinWoo to hold me. To let me hold him. And then, in another flash, another memory with ShinWoo hits me like a second blast to my heart. That day in Yeosu when we were washing the Chin's car, when I sprayed him, the way he grabbed me around the waist when he caught me. I think of how Nobu grabbed me around the waist. I still feel his arms around me. I lay my head down against his chest. But then, I nearly gasp. What was I doing? This wasn't fair. This wasn't fair to Nobu. I made move to pull away again, but Nobu held me tightly. I sighed, seeing I couldn't get out of this. I looked at the screen, tears in my eyes. This time, not from the movie, but from my thoughts.

* * *

Nobu hardly watched the movie. He had his eyes on Aimee. The way she teared up while watching the movie; the way she laughed when a funny part came up. He loved that about her.

As the movie ended, he noticed Aimee's eyes had closed and that she was breathing steadily. She was so close to him. She had actually turned to face him, so now her face was in his chest. She clutched onto his shirt. He brushed her cheek gently, not wanting to wake her.

He had to laugh at himself. No girl had ever had this kind of control over him before. And it was strange, because she didn't even love him back. Of all the girls he could've had that wanted him, he had to fall in love with the one who had her eye on someone else. Why was it always like that? Love. He almost cringed at the word. He didn't use it often, but this was it. He knew it. He loved Aimee. He laughed at himself again. He was getting soft.

Even still, when he looked at her, he felt an ache. When she'd seen ShinWoo hugging that girlfriend of his earlier, he saw how much she hurt. He even caught glimpse of a small tear. It made him want to punch ShinWoo out. She was better off without him. He wanted to protect her from that kind of hurt. But then, he looked at himself. At his useless legs, and his anger was so much that he wanted to just scream until his lungs gave out. He was helpless.

"I'm sorry I can't be the one to protect you," he muttered softly, looking back at Aimee. He looked at her soft sleeping face. He closed his eyes, and laid his head next to her. He pulled her closer.

* * *

ShinWoo pulled into the driveway. It's been a long day. MiNam and TaeKyung followed in TaeKyung's car. Jeremy on his bike. ShinWoo stepped out of the car. The lights were on. That's right. Aimee came home. Why she didn't come back, he wasn't sure. It probably had to do with why she was so upset with MiNam, but he wasn't so sure about that either.

As he walked into the house, he heard the theme to 200-Pound Beauty playing. He smirked, and shook his head. Her favorite movie. Aimee didn't watch a lot of movies anymore. Last time he saw her watching that movie was during a time where she was really upset about the accident. She watched it nonstop and she cried silently to it everytime. Was she upset this time just like then?

He walked into the living room, expecting to find Aimee fast-asleep. It was late. But when he stepped in, he saw that not only Aimee was asleep, but also Nobu. And they didn't sleep on opposite couches. They were sleeping on this one couch together. In each other's arms.

ShinWoo looked away, somehow embarrassed to be seeing this. It didn't concern him. But he stood there, and looked at them. Seeing them made him angry somehow. He didn't like Nobu. And this wasn't right.

"Noona! We're ho-" Jeremy ran in, shouting, but Shinwoo cut him off with a loud shush. Jeremy saw the two sleeping on the couch and stared agape. TaeKyung and MiNam walked in. TaeKyung opened his mouth to shout at Aimee, probably, but Jeremy shushed them with a finger. They, too, saw Aimee and Nobu.

The 200-Pound Beauty theme song was playing in the credits now. ShinWoo walked over and clicked the TV off. Nobu's head jerked up as if ShinWoo had dropped a million-kilogram weight on the ground.

"How late is it?" he asked, casually, as if it were perfectly normal for him to be sleeping on their couch next to a girl they basically considered family.

"Nearly midnight," ShinWoo replied, his tone colder than he had intended. "Maybe you should head home now."

Nobu shot him a mild glare. ShinWoo glared back. Nobody spoke as they felt the mild tension. Finally, Nobu smirked.

"Alright, _hyung_," he said. "Come and take Aimee from me then. So I can get onto my chair."

ShinWoo made no move to get Aimee. He seemed hesitant, though he didn't know why. Nobu stared hard at him. More tension.

Finally, TaeKyung broke it by walking over and lightly shaking Aimee awake. She looked up at everyone, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Oh, sorry," she said, turning slightly red. She stood up and walked off to her room without a word to anyone.

As she passed ShinWoo, he tried to catch her gaze. But she didn't look at him. And for some reason, that stung him more than he'd ever admit.

_What was wrong with Aimee?_

"Here, hyung," Jeremy said. "Let me help you."

He helped Nobu climb back into his wheelchair. ShinWoo caught Nobu's gaze for just a moment. Nobu must have seen the sting on ShinWoo's face, because he gave an amused smirk. ShinWoo glared at him. Asshole. He didn't even have the right to be here.

"Ah, h-hyung," Jeremy stuttered as ShinWoo stomped off to his room.

He made an effort not to slam the door. He wouldn't get angry. It wasn't his style. No, he wouldn't. ShinWoo sighed, and fell back onto his bed. He turned his head to look at his dresser, and something caught his eye.

Slowly, ShinWoo reached over and picked the white hemp bracelet off his dresser counter. He ran his fingers over the smooth rhino bone. For some reason, he thought of what the woman had told him in Yeosu.

_"This bracelet is meant to be given to the person you want to spend the rest of your life with."_

"Maybe I should give this to Nobu from Aimee," he said to himself. It was a bit strange for him to have it. But for some reason, part of him didn't want to give it away. It was a sincere gift. He shouldn't give it away. Maybe Aimee hadn't known the meaning behind the bracelet. He laughed to himself quietly. Why was he thinking about this stuff anyways? He placed the bracelet in his dresser drawer beneath his other stuff and headed back outside.

* * *

I sit in the recording studio. It's early in the morning. Maybe five. I couldn't sleep after TaeKyung woke me up again last night. I sighed. That had been embarrassing, but not nearly as bad as I thought. Anyway, I came to the studio. I was just setting up. I rubbed my eyes.

Going to bed, I'd seen my music sheet again. And I decided that I should finish writing my song. I put my hands on the keyboard and played what I already had of the song. I added notes here and there as I played. Inspiration seemed alive in me that morning. The song came easy. I was able to complete the music at about nine. The lyrics, however, were a struggle. I couldn't find any words I wanted to write. I sighed. What had TaeKyung told me, way back when, about writing songs?

_"Put your heart into your song, Jung Aimee."_

That's what he had scolded me as we wrote songs together. I sighed. The only thing in my heart was hurt and embarrassment. I sighed. Maybe I should write a confession? No…that'd be embarrassing if someone ever read it. I sighed. I couldn't talk out my feelings to anyone. I might as well write about them. And so, I thought about it. _This is the end of these feelings_, I promised myself for the millionth time. It ends with this song.

"Do you remember when our eyes met? I remember when my heart fluttered for the first time…  
Although it may not have been a fateful meeting like in movies, you approached closer and made me dream…" I spoke the words out loud as if I was actually confessing. Tears filled my eyes.

_The last time…_

"You are the only one I need. It rids the reason for everything else…I am fine with everything else as long as you are beside me. Even if the season or the world changes, I will always and forever love you…" I said softly, closing my eyes.

"Because you are my destiny."

I'd written a good part of the song when I got a sudden block in my mind. I wiped away my tears and looked up at the clock. It was nearly noon. 11:30. I decided to get some breakfast. I was surprised to hear someone talking in the halls.

"I'm sorry, ShinWoo hyung," a voice sighed. "You've been misunderstood because of me."

"That's true."

I'd know that voice across the largest void in the galaxy. _ShinWoo._ I bite my lip. Why do I always walk in on this? I thought about it. I looked around the corner, and no doubt, I saw ShinWoo talking with MiNam.

"Everybody keeps asking me who that woman is. I'm getting tired of it," ShinWoo pouted at MiNam. "And worst of all, it's bothering the woman I like."

I look away from them. Why were they here so early? Were the others here too? As if answering my question, I suddenly catch a glimpse of Manager Ma and TaeKyung. I gasp and take off away from them all. I don't go back to my studio. I run down the stairs on the other end of the floor and go out the front entrance. I can't help but take time to notice the weeping fans, holding up 'ShinWoo, congratulations!' signs. I want to rip them apart.

"Congratulations, oppa, on your love!" a fan cries out, crying tears.

Somehow, I think that I belong out here with these girls. Crying for their unrequited love. I bite my lip. They're too upset to notice me. I watch them quietly. Am I just like these girls? All these years, I'd been thinking they were pathetic. Understandable, their love was, yes, but strangely pathetic at the same time. And now, here I was, feeling just like one of them.

Only, I couldn't congratulate ShinWoo on his love. Not at all. I grew angry all over again. Why? Why her? If it hadn't been me, I would have thought it would be someone else…someone not like MiNam. But it was her. Anyone else, it may have been easier for me to accept. No, that was a lie. But still…

I turn away from the fans. I couldn't stand to watch their understanding. The kind that I didn't have. And somehow, in a silly way, I almost envied those fans.

**

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**

**Author's Note:**

I KNOW. I'm sorry! I haven't updated in a while T_T lol. I've been busy. School, homework. And this weekend I had a wedding to do. My culture has THREE DAY LONG WEDDINGS. AND I WAS THE 'Green Lady'. The one who watches over the bride for the whole wedding to make sure nothing happens to her. Ugh. I love my sister-in-law, but really…that was super tiring. I even slept over at her house cause of the wedding. Lol! X] Anyways, I thought I owed you guys at least ONE chapter. I love you all, my reviewers!

And btw, I've chosen that I want to do a baby shower! Thanks for the votes, hehe. I'm not basing off of votes though, I just wanted to know what you guys liked. And also, you reviewers who are worried about how ShinWoo might not turn around later on back to Aimee, don't worries. You'll all see how it works out in the end ;D


	25. Chapter 25

TaeKyung sighs, irritated as Manager Ma drags him behind a pillar so they can listen in on MiNam and ShinWoo's conversation. He didn't want to be here.

"What are you doing? Why are you eavesdropping on others?" he growled loudly.

"Shh! Let's listen!" Manager Ma pleaded. TaeKyung scoffed and tries to pull away, but Manager Ma grabs him and pulls him back, TaeKyung scoffs again, but stays put.

"ShinWoo hyung you already have someone you like but because of me...I'm really sorry," MiNam said. TaeKyung gritted his teeth. She was always doing wrong. Stupid girl. Always saying sorry. Wait. What? ShinWoo liked somebody? TaeKyung listened closer.

"If I were to go and tell the woman everything now, do you think we could still clear up the misunderstanding?" ShinWoo asked suddenly. MiNam gasped.

"W-we should do that!" she nodded eagerly. TaeKyung wanted to puke at how she practically swerved at every corner for him. What a pathetic way to like a man. He scoffed, thinking about Aimee. What did they both see in Kang ShinWoo? Sure, he was handsome and charming most of the time, but truly, he could be ten times colder and crueler than TaeKyung himself. Well, maybe that was an exaggeration, but you get the idea. Aimee knew that truth. He wasn't sure about Go MiNam however. She was too dim-witted to know anything.

_Stupid pig-rabbit._

"MiNam," ShinWoo's voice brought TaeKyung back to the conversation. "If necessary, will you go to that woman and explain it to her?"

TaeKyung almost leaped at them. His eyes wide. ShinWoo was asking her to explain the situation to the girl he liked? Was he not aware of her feelings at all? MiNam is probably crushed inside right now. Despite all the crap he went through because of her, TaeKyung was now worrying about her.

"Yes, I owe you that much, don't I?" MiNam replied, her voice strong. TaeKyung couldn't tell if it was a cover or if it was normal.

"It's all because of me. Even if I have to explain it a hundred times, I definitely will!" MiNam nodded, determined.

"Seems like I have to look for a venue for a formal explanation," ShinWoo replied. "You have to come with me."

"Yes, I will," MiNam nods again.

Manager Ma sighs deeply next to TaeKyung. Manager Ma looks at him. But TaeKyung is too busy looking off into space. MiNam would get hurt. And hadn't TaeKyung promised to protect her? He was on her side now, as it is.

He turned and walked away from Manager Ma, who opened his mouth to call him back, but didn't want to draw attention to himself. He follows TaeKyung silently to the recording room. TaeKyung sits down at the keyboard and stares at the piles of papers and disks.

"TaeKyung-ah," Manager Ma sniffles. "MiNam is really pitiful. To go to the woman of the man she likes and say, 'I'm nothing to him. Kang ShinWoo likes you.' She has to do this."

Manager Ma breaks down into sobbing little heaves. TaeKyung sighs. He's too distracted by the truth of Ma's words to even think of an insult about him crying. First, his best friend. Now, Go MiNam. Like he said before, Kang ShinWoo could honestly be more cruel than TaeKyung himself. TaeKyung sighed. He looked up, about to say something to Manager Ma.

Just then, he noticed some papers on the edge of the keyboard. They were music sheets, but they weren't his. When he reached over to pick them up, he recognized Aimee's swirly hand-writing almost right away. Not to mention that she was the only one he knew who wrote in sparkly purple pen that came to this studio. TaeKyung grew curious.

_When did Aimee start writing songs again?_

He laid the sheet out on the stand and played a few keys from the notes. Manager Ma looked up at him. TaeKyung played until he could play a good part of the song. Then, he read over the lyrics written sloppily under the bars and sang them with the song.

"Do you remember when our eyes met? I remember when my heart fluttered for the first time…Although it may not have been a fateful meeting like in movies, you approached closer and made me dream…" he sang, his voice deep and smooth. He closed his eyes. He could imagine Aimee singing this song, and in his mind, he heard her sing along with him.

"You are the only one I need. It rids the reason for everything else…I am fine with everything else as long as you are beside me. Even if the season or the world changes, I will always and forever love you…because you are my destiny."

Manager Ma walked up behind him as TaeKyung finished the last note.

"Yah, what's that? A new song? Sounds good," Manager Ma said, sniffling a little still.

"It's not mine," TaeKyung said simply. Before Manager Ma can ask who, TaeKyung stands, gathering the papers. He heads out the studio. The song's lyrics…though simple, TaeKyung knew they probably meant a lot to Aimee. He had to talk to her.

Kang ShinWoo liked someone and he was pretty sure it wasn't Jung Aimee.

The least TaeKyung could do at this point was try to protect Aimee.

But then, he stopped halfway down the stairs. He suddenly remembered Nobu. TaeKyung sighed. What was this? Perhaps he'd misunderstood. Was the song for ShinWoo or Nobu? He thought of Aimee and Nobu, sleeping on the couch and holding one another. TaeKyung cursed. Why was everything so complicated? ShinWoo; MiNam; Aimee; Nobu; himself…Wait. Himself? No, he wasn't involved in this crap. Not like _that_ at least. He cursed again.

"Ah, oppa!"

TaeKyung turned at the sudden voice. He saw Aimee looking up at him. Her gaze fell to the pile of papers in his hand. She noticed the sparkly purple ink right away. She gasped and snatched the papers from him. TaeKyung stared long at her. She sighed, knowing.

"You read it?" she asked. TaeKyung crossed his arms, and nodded softly. Aimee scoffed and turned away, ready to take off. TaeKyung grabbed her back and pulled her up the stairs. She struggled against his hold.

"Yah! Let go!" she shouted.

When he let go, Aimee rubbed her wrist and looked up at him scornfully. He felt sorry.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. Her look softened.

"It's alright, oppa," she replied.

They were both silent. TaeKyung saddened, though he would never admit it. When had they become so distant? TaeKyung couldn't even properly read the look on her face anymore. When had they stopped being friends? He didn't know. He sighed.

"Jung Aimee," he said, sternly. "Give up Kang ShinWoo."

Aimee looked at him like he was insane. She opened her mouth to deny any feelings for ShinWoo, but TaeKyung cut her off. They weren't _so_ distant that he couldn't tell.

"Don't deny it, Aimee. I know you like him. I don't know if that song is for Nobu or ShinWoo, but I know you still have feelings for ShinWoo and I'm telling you…" TaeKyung struggled with the words. "Le him go."

"Why should I?" Aimee narrowed her eyes at him. "It's my choice."

TaeKyung bit his lip a bit, "For one, it's not fair to Nobu. If you're going to be with Nobu, let your heart be true to him as well. Second…"

Aimee paused a moment, "Second?"

"Just…be careful, Aimee. You'll get hurt," TaeKyung didn't know how to tell it to her. He was cruel maybe, harsh, but he couldn't pull the words out of this throat and crush his best friend like that. He just couldn't. He was still human. He still cared.

"I've already been hurt, oppa. And not just by him," she sighed, and walked off, clutching her papers in my right fist.

* * *

I stomp off down the stairs. My heart ached from TaeKyung's words. I didn't know if it ached because he didn't know how hurt I was, or because this was his only small show of affection in what seemed like forever.

I'd run out all the way to my car when my cell phone rang. I climbed into the car before answering.

"Yeobeosayo?" I answered.

"Sassy girl!" I heard Nobu reply.

"Yah! I'm not sassy!" I defend myself automatically.

I could feel Nobu smirk, "You know you are."

"Shut up."

"Love you too."

"Bleh!"

That's how we greeted each other. Odd, maybe, but it was just that way.

"So, did you sleep okay last night?" Nobu asked. He chuckled. I blushed, remembering the night before. I sighed.

"I slept fine," I lied. "What about you?"

"Never better."

"Psh," I scoff for no reason. A short silence.

"Want to go to the mall today?" Nobu asked suddenly.

"Huh?" I pull out of the parking lot and start home.

"The. Mall. Stupid," Nobu says slowly. "Want to go?"

"Oh, uh," I pause, going over my schedule. Then, I scoff internally. What schedule? I had no schedule. I smiled softly to myself.

"Sure. I'll come pick you up after I get dressed," I tell him.

"Alright, sassy girl," he makes a quick kiss-kiss. I roll my eyes and hang up.

I pull into the parking lot of the mall, slowing to a stop softly with my blue patent-leather shoes on the brake. Nobu grins, reaching over and flicks a piece of wool off my off-shoulder blue sweater. I shoot him a look. He simply smirks. I step out of the car, making sure not to flash anything in my white ruffle-miniskirt. I walk to the other side of the car and set up Nobu's wheelchair. He climbs in and I almost laugh at how strange a couple we must look. Me, dressed so proper, while he sat in his unbutton collar shirt, graphic tee, and ragged jeans. He looked like a rock star.

Near the entrance, I saw a small photo booth. I rushed to it automatically.

"Yah! Not so fast! I'm going to fall out!" Nobu cried out sarcastically.

"Oh shush," I hush him and put my money in. "I always loved these. Haven't taken pictures here in forever! Last time I came was with-"

Nobu looked at me. I frowned.

"With _Jeremy_ you asshole," I stick my tongue out at him. I frown a little, remembering this morning with MiNam and ShinWoo. I sigh.

"Let's not think about ShinWoo today," I tell him.

Nobu forces a smile, "Who's ShinWoo?"

"I have no idea," I laugh, playing along. "Come on! Let's take some pictures!"

I help him out of his wheelchair and set him in the booth. Then, I climb in. We pose, watching the countdowns. Honestly, I was a huge camera-whore. I loved taking pictures. I grinned in every one. Nobu and I managed to do five poses. Two cute poses; One angry pose; one peace pose; one crazy pose; and in the last pose, Nobu leaned over and took my face into his hands and kissed me.

I pulled away from him, blushing. He smirks arrogantly. I resist the urge to smack him. I step out of the booth and look at our pictures. There were two copies of each picture, leaving a strip for each one of us. I hand him one and help him back into his chair.

"These are awesome," Nobu laughs. "I like your face in this one."

He points to the angry picture. I'm holding up a fist and scrunching my face into total hideousness. I scoff.

"You look funnier!" I counter, pointing to his crazy pose. He crossed his eyes and stuck his hands out behind his ears, waving his fingers. Nobu laughs. I laugh as well and we continue on with our trip around the mall.

* * *

TaeKyung watches scornfully as MiNam and ShinWoo serve the birdie back to each other softly. It's making him sick to watch. The sweet pleasant smile on MiNam's face as she looks at ShinWoo. It makes him want to punch ShinWoo out. But he can't do that. So instead, he intercepts one of the serves to ShinWoo and smacks it back hard, knocking MiNam in the face. She falls to the ground.

"See! There's nothing you're good at," TaeKyung takes out his anger on MiNam. She glares at him with pure hatred.

"If it was something else I could've done really well!" she retorts. He scoffs. TaeKyung is just about to deny her the right of being talented when she stands and runs to the jungle-gym. The boys follow her, curious.

They round the corner to see MiNam gripping onto a bar using her elbows and arms. Her legs dangle above the ground. She pouts smugly at TaeKyung. She holds onto the bar for at least five minutes, not wavering once.

"Wow, Go MiNam," Jeremy grins. "You're really amazing!"

"When I was young, I used to win all the boys at this!" MiNam replied, proudly.

ShinWoo sighed, "That's tiring. You should get down. You've proved your amazing-ness to us all already."

"I can hold on until the end!" she replies.

TaeKyung scoffs. Did she really want to show off to ShinWoo so much? He looked away, drinking from his water bottle. Pathetic. Stupid. Stupid pig-rabbit. Your heart is going to be torn to pieces any moment by that guy. And you still want to impress him?

"Ah! You did so well!" TaeKyung shouts in sarcastic joy. "Now, get down."

"I'm doing so good! I can hold on until the end! Don't interfere, hyung-nim," MiNam's iciness stung TaeKyung's pride. Jeremy whooted for her.

"Yah, MiNam isn't coming down even after TaeKyung-hyung's compliment," he nods. "Let me try!"

He runs in front of her, trying his funny tactics to get her to laugh and fall. She laughs, but manages to hold on tightly as if she had all the strength in the world.

"I won't come down!" she says between laughs.

ShinWoo grins, "You won't Iisten to TaeKyung's words and Jeremy's jokes don't work either. Then, let me give it a try."

ShinWoo walks over to MiNam. He stands before her. MiNam smiles, determined.

"Nothing ShinWoo-hyung can do will-!"

She's cut off as ShinWoo leans forward and presses his lips to her forehead. TaeKyung jumps, startled. MiNam holds onto the bar a moment, dazed. Then, she falls to the ground. She looks up at ShinWoo, stars in her eyes. TaeKyung holds back the urge to knock the arrogant smile off of ShinWoo's face.

And for reasons unbeknownst to him, TaeKyung's chest aches with a deep dark pain.

**

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**Author's Note:**

Yay! New chapter! Sorry. Chapter flow is slow…ugh. So busy! Haha. I love you guys. Your reviews make my day. I always let out a happy scream when I read a new review, whether it's good or bad, haha. LOVE YOU GUYS! 


	26. Chapter 26

"Yah, Aimee, Aimee!"

I jerk my head up. Nobu is waving a French-fry in front of my face. I blink at him. I groan and close my eyes again. But I fail to fall asleep again. It's noisy in the Food Court of the mall. People coming and going. I lean on my arm, trying to nap. Suddenly, I get slapped in the cheek with a greasy fry. I open one irritated eye at Nobu.

"What?" I ask. He smirks.

"You're driving. Better not be sleeping," he eats the fry. "You should drink something. Or better, eat. I haven't seen you eat all day."

"I ate," I lied. I wasn't hungry. "I ate before I picked you up."

Nobu glanced at his watch, "That was around ten. It's nearly three now."

"Nyah," I stick my tongue out at him. "I'll go get a coffee."

He nods. I stand and walk to the café on the other end of the Food Court. As I walk in, I spot a familiar face. I smile.

"Unnie!" I walk over to Coordinator Wang. Suddenly, another face turns. The face of the person sitting across from Coordinator Wang. Yoo HeYi. I immediately regret saying anything. Too late. Too late to run now.

"Unnie!" HeYi grins brightly at me. I force a smile, and urge myself to continue my walk over to them. Coordinator waves a hand at my outfit.

"Very cute," she compliments. "Oh! What are you doing here?"

"I'm here with Nobu," I answer casually. HeYi gives a slight smirk. Coordinator Wang fawns.

"Yah, he's so adorable. Where is he?" she asked. I point to the other end of the Food Court.

"You should get him. Sit down and drink with us," HeYi offered. I smirked.

"No, thanks. I just came to get a quick coffee so I don't fall asleep on the drive home," I tell them. HeYi shakes her head.

"Please, stay. We're having a total girl-talk!" she grins, as if I was actually interested in whatever _she_ had to say.

"Yes, Aimee you _must_ stay!" Coordinator Wang tugged at my arm and made me sit.

"Just for a moment," I force the words out. "But let me place my order first."

"Ah! Yes," Coordinator Wang grins, when I come back to the table. "We were just talking about MiNam and the boys. Yoo HeYi is so silly. She's jealous of MiNam!"

I smirk, "Why would she have to worry about that? She's beautiful."

Coordinator Wang doesn't pick up on the tension between me and HeYi. She doesn't pick up on my sarcasm either. She nods.

"I know right! That's my point exactly. She has no need to be jealous," Wang reaches over and squeezes HeYi's hand supportively. HeYi sighs.

"But what if she doesn't return after she becomes a girl again?" HeYi shoots me a look. "She's treated so well, she might not want to go back."

No one says anything a while. I think about what she's saying. It's true. MiNam is treated so well by the three most gorgeous guys in the world. Why would she want to go back? Who would want to go back? I sighed. I tried not to think about it. Whatever. I'll move out if she does that. She can take my room. She's already pretty much taken up the space of me in their hearts, why not their house as well?

"Well, let me tell you guys something," Coordinator Wang lowered her voice, raising her brows at us. HeYi leans in. Despite myself, I lean in too.

"MiNam grew up in a convent. Naturally, she'll become a nun. After it all ends, she'll go back to the convent," Wang whispers, smirking. "But don't say a word to anyone. Not even the guys know it. I'm only telling you guys because HeYi seems so sad."

I glance at HeYi, who's grinning as bright as a star now.

"Wow, if the TaeKyung oppa and the others knew about this, they'd be really shocked," she says. She looks at me. "Wouldn't they, Aimee?"

I don't answer her. Instead, I raise an eyebrow at her.

"Mocha Frappucino!"

I move to get my order, but HeYi grabs my hand and sits me down. She smiles sweetly at Coordinator Wang.

"Could you get that, unnie? Aimee looks really tired," HeYi said. Wang gasped, looking at me.

"Yes, you look very pale. Let me go get that for you," she scurries off to the counter.

I shoot HeYi a credulous look. She smiles at me. I snatch my hand away from her. She was up to something. I didn't like that sick smile.

"You…" I start. "What are you up to?"

"TaeKyung oppa, Jeremy oppa, and…ShinWoo oppa," she named them all. "They'd be surprised if they found out MiNam was going to become a nun, huh?"

"What? Are you planning to tell them?" I scoff. "Or, no. Are you planning to threaten MiNam with it, _saying_ you'll tell them? You need to get a life."

"I have a life, thank you very much. And it's _wonderful_," she laughs lightly. I want to puke on her. "I was just wondering…weren't you thinking the same thing as me? After all, you really like Kang ShinWoo."

I force a smirk. She's not going to get to me.

"I think MiNam deserves whatever is coming," I say. HeYi's face brightens. I smirk again. "But I'll let whatever is coming come on its own. I'm now the type to wreck a happy home, Yoo HeYi."

"_She's_ the homewrecker, not me!" HeYi snaps suddenly, but quickly hushes again as some people turn to look. Sighing, she smoothes her hair back into place.

"So, you won't help me get rid of her? It'll make things easier for you and ShinWoo," HeYi says, and surprisingly, she doesn't sound sly or smug at all. She sound completely earnest. And for a moment, I'm not sure if she's acting or if she's sincerely earnest.

"There's nothing between me and ShinWoo," I tell her plainly. Where is Coordinator unnie? Why is she taking so long? I stand to leave.

"I wonder what Nobu oppa would have to say about you liking Kang ShinWoo, Aimee," HeYi says suddenly. She looks at me. I turn red with fury.

"You want to threaten me?" I snap at her. "Go ahead. Tell him whatever the heck you know. I don't care. Try to hurt me. Try to screw me over, bitch, and I'll screw you over twice as bad."

"Wah," HeYi doesn't even flinch. "So violent towards me. And I haven't even touched your man. Are you so violent to MiNam too? She's all over him, can't you tell?"

I scoff and turn away. Coordinator Wang walks up. I snatch my frappucino from her and head back to Nobu. God damn. I let the bitch get to me.

MiNam pushes open the door, holding the tray of juice in her hand. She walks over to the piano, her heart lightening a little at the sight of TaeKyung. She places the juice on the piano he's playing and smiles at him.

"Jeremy says to bring you the lime juice you like so much," she nods to him, grinning proudly at finally being able to do a good deed for him.

"Lime," TaeKyung scoffs, shooting her a glare. Her heart sinks. "That I drank such a sour disgusting thing is also your fault."

"My fault?" she says, meekly. "Hyung-nim, how can it be my fault? You've wronged me."

_So much for doing a good deed._

"Go MiNam," TaeKyung stares long and hard at her. "Didn't you use to bear with it all, no matter how much I wronged you?"

MiNam was taken back slightly by her sudden outburst. She nodded, frowning slightly.

"Ah, yes. I'm sorry. I'll bear with this now as well," she looks away from him.

TaeKyung scoffed, ignoring her statement, "Then why didn't you, just now? Because of ShinWoo, you also couldn't bear it and fell down."

"A-ah," MiNam reddened, remembering ShinWoo's sudden kiss. "That was because I was too startled!"

"Ah, yeah," TaeKyung said sarcastically. "But it wasn't just that. It was so obvious, that you wanted to be with him. You wanted to show him your best, and held on until the end. It's obvious that you like him!"

* * *

MiNam jumped as he snapped angrily at her. Why was he being so horrible? Tears stung at MiNam's eyes. She searched for something to say back to him.

"Hyung-nim! I've already told you it's not true!" she tries to explain.

_Why was he so clueless?_

"You won't be able to bear with it until the end," TaeKyung goes on, ignoring her. "ShinWoo will know as time passes. He'll feel sorry towards you. If things develop that way, it'll bring trouble to you both then!"

MiNam was on the verge of tears now. His harsh words were like a knife into her soft heart.

"Is liking someone such a bad thing?" she manages to choke out. "Not hoping for anything; trying not to be found out…is that not allowed?"

"Is that what you're doing? Is that how the female mind works? You and Aimee…" TaeKyung curses. "If I were Kang ShinWoo, I'd be feeling pretty lousy!"

MiNam is too hurt to even notice the comment about Aimee. Tears slip from her eyes, despite her best effort to hold them back. TaeKyung doesn't look at her. He stares off, angry. MiNam bites her lip, staring at him.

Why was he being so horrible?

Suddenly, TaeKyung turns and looks at her again. He opens his mouth to shout more when he notices her tears. His face softens.

"Are you…crying?" he asks softly.

MiNam quickly wipes her tears away, "No, I'm not! I can bear with it! I won't be found out."

TaeKyung's expression showed a slight hint of worry and guilt, "Although it's quite troublesome, should I show my face and settle it for you?"

"No!" MiNam exclaimed loudly. She sniffled. "Please do not interfere. You can just pretend not to know anything and stay put!"

Her angry tone surprised even herself, but she didn't care anymore. She turned, and stomped away from the jerk. She wiped her tears, sniffling.

"Yeah! Let's see how much you can bear, Go MiNam!" she heard TaeKyung scream after her.

* * *

After dropping off Nobu at his dorm, I drove back home. I pulled into the driveway and got out, slinging my bag over my shoulder. I catch glimpse of ShinWoo coming out the front door, stylishly dressed in a blue plaid button-down and leather jacket. He doesn't notice me as he climbs into his car and pulls out of the driveway. I try not to think about where he's going.

_It doesn't concern me. It doesn't concern me._

_"MiNam's the homewrecker…!"_

I shake HeYi's voice from my mind. Never mind what HeYi had to say. Nonsense. Nonsense. There's nothing between me and ShinWoo. Just an old, forgotten, unrequited love. I scoff.

_Yeah, right._

I go into the house, dropping my keys into the dish by the door. I toss my bag onto my bed, change into house-clothes and plop down onto my bed next to my bag. I stare at the ceiling a moment. Groaning, I roll over onto my stomach and reach under my pillow for my sketch book. I flip through the pages silently, staring at the pictures I'd drawn of the others. My best friends. The loves of my life. I stare a long moment at a portrait of ShinWoo.

_Time to move on._

I flip to a clean page and pull my picture strip of Nobu and I out from my bag. I stare at Nobu's face in all the pictures. A strange feeling in my chest emerges. I lay the strip next to my sketchbook and grab a pencil off my night table. I start to sketch the outline of his face. The high cheekbones, the thick lips, the dark eyes…

"Nobu," I whisper softly, saying his name as if it was something precious.

I can't sleep that night either. Maybe it was the late frappucino I had. I'm not sure. I get up and grab my dance gear. I haven't danced in a while. It's nearly ten, but I head to the studio anyways. I'm surprised to see cars parked outside. I realize one is ShinWoo's white Mercedes. I hesitate a moment, before going in.

Climbing up the stairs to my dance studio, I look around for any sign of ShinWoo or anyone else. No one. I shrug it off. I flick on the lights to my studio, gasping in shock as I see a figure sitting on my wooden floor, clutching his knees to his chest. I take a moment and look at the figure. I see a leather jacket and a slight hint of a blue shirt. The figure looks up at me. ShinWoo.

I stare at him a long moment. The moistness of his eyes and the silence lets me knows that this is because of Go MiNam. ShinWoo looks away from me, knowing I know. I am just about to say something when ShinWoo suddenly speaks.

"Don't I seem like a fool?" he asks softly. He scoffs. "After everything, I just keep sitting here like a fool, loving her and smiling against the pain."

I remain silent as ShinWoo stares off, sniffling. The deep hatred in my heart begins to burn again. Watching him cry like this…Watching him hurt…no matter how much I tell myself there's nothing between us, I know it's not true. Watching him cry made me realize it all over again.

God. Just when I think I can let him go, something like this happens to suck me back in.

My own tears start to form as I watch ShinWoo try to hold back his tears. He stands and faces the wall.

"I'm worthless. Stupid, worthless, aren't I, Aimee?" he looks up at me, forcing a smile. I don't smile back. I drop my bag onto the ground, loudly. I glare at ShinWoo, who seems surprised at my sudden anger.

"Stupid, yes. You're the stupidest person on this entire earth," I spit at him. "But you're not worthless."

ShinWoo holds my gaze a moment longer.

"Are you…crying?"

I ignore his question. I don't even move to wipe my tears away. I sniffle and let out a breath.

"You're not worthless. You…" I start. I could confess now. I could say everything now.

_You're not worthless. You're everything to me._

"You're not worthless," I say again. "You were the one who helped me move on. I walked again because of you. Before you, I hated the world for what it did to me. If it wasn't for you, I'd be no better off than Nobu in a stinking wheelchair for the rest of my life…"

ShinWoo stares at me, silent. I sniffle again, wiping some tears away.

"You helped me to stand and walk again, ShinWoo. And that's not worthless. You were my life," I choke out. "So unless I'm nothing, you're not nothing either. So don't you _ever _call yourself worthless."

I wipe the remaining of my tears away. ShinWoo is still looking at me, speechless. I look away from him, trying to wipe the tears, but they keep coming. God. I hated crying so much. I kept wiping them away.

Suddenly, a hand comes at me. ShinWoo turns me to face him, and reaches out, brushing my tears away with his thumbs. He doesn't look into my eyes. I let my hands fall to my side as he wipes away my tears. Neither one of us says anything. Finally, he looks up at me. I think he's going to say something, but he doesn't. Instead, he surprises me by reaching out and wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

"Thank you for your words, Aimee."

I close my eyes, but don't hug him back. Any other time, I would've taken this moment in and ignored the rest of the world, but suddenly, this didn't feel right anymore. ShinWoo was still clueless.

_You damn clueless jerk._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yayy, new chapter! =D Leave reviews. I'd love it if you did =D They make me super happy! I can't believe I'm already about on episode 12. Only four more episodes! T_T I need to wrap this stories' loose ends up, ahahaha. =) Can you believe we're almost done? . Hmm….Love you guys ahaha.

Also, finally, ShinWoo shows a little affection to Aimee, huh? She deserves a little. But aww, Nobu is so adorable. Who would you choose? Your first love, or the one who helped you move on?

Also, I got lots of people saying they can't imagine Aimee as Kim So Eun. Ahaha. I agree. Who do _you_ think Aimee seems like? =) Let me know. And maybe, I'll remake a banner/trailer with your pick! =) Just wanna know who you guys think is like Aimee. =)


	27. Chapter 27

Once again, I'm sitting in the park. Nobu is at my side. We're both silent. I can't stop thinking about the night before. ShinWoo. The way he was crying. I can't get his hurt expression out of my mind. My heart is beating so fast. I can't stop thinking about how he pulled me into his arms.

_"Thank you for your words, Aimee."_

I close my eyes, staring hard at the clover patch on the grass in front of me. Suddenly, a hand sticks into my face, interrupting my thoughts. Nobu stares at me.

"What are you staring at?" he asks.

I blush and try to think of an excuse, "Oh, ah, nothing. I'm just…looking for a four-leaf clover."

_Lame. Super lame._

Nobu smirks, "Four leaf clover, eh?"

"Yeah, what of it?" I stick my tongue out at him, trying to play cool. He glances at the clover patch. Shakes his head, and smirks again.

"Ah, yes! Doesn't A. have a photoshoot today?" he asks suddenly. I frown. Why did he have to bring it up?

"We're allowed to go, aren't we? I had some stuff to discuss with Jeremy. Let's go!" Nobu grins, and starts off to the car. I don't want to go. I don't move. He looks back at me.

"Yah, what? Did something happen?" he asks. Immediately, ShinWoo pops into my hed. I quickly shake my head.

"N-no," I say, I force a smile. "Let's go."

I drive out to the prairie. It's pretty, with lots of flowers in bloom. Immediately, I spot the cameras and staff surrounding the boys. I catch glimpse of Yoo HeYi, who they were shooting with. In her long lacy purple dress, she really does look like an innocent fairy. I resist the urge to barf, remembering yesterday's conversation. Nobu and I make our way towards the shoot, sticking to the path, since his wheelchair can't go over grass.

"Ah, hyung!"

Jeremy runs from the group. I notice that ShinWoo is holding a lace parasol over HeYi's head. TaeKyung is holding her by the hand, looking like he might barf on something. HeYi grins smugly, but her smug look falls as she sees me. I cross my arms.

"Yah, hyung!" I tune out Jeremy as he talks to Nobu.

"How was the shoot? Fun?" I ask TaeKyung. I don't look at ShinWoo or MiNam.

"It was okay," TaeKyung mumbled, and let HeYi's hand fall.

ShinWoo looks up to catch my eye, but I don't meet his. MiNam runs to my side, smiling.

"Sunbae, I'm glad you stopped by!" she says. I force a small smile at her.

"Yeah," I say.

"Aimee."

I turn as Nobu calls my name. He looks at me a bit, then at MiNam. His eyes ask me what's up, but I don't say anything back to him. TaeKyung shifts awkwardly.

"They're shooting the guys! Everybody, let's go!" Coordinator Wang comes out of nowhere and does a little dance. She grins at us all. TaeKyung scoffs and hurries away. ShinWoo sticks the parasol back into HeYi's hand. MiNam scrambles after the guys. No one says a word to me.

"Wow! You look really pretty today, huh, Aimee?" Coordinator Wang smiles.

I overlook HeYi. Yes, she looks pretty. She always looks pretty. I examine her lacey dress and giant purple bow. I nod.

"Really pretty," I agree. HeYi shoots me a slight glare, but I was being sincere.

"I'm sure ShinWoo thought you looked really pretty too. MiNam must be really envious," Coordinator Wang nudged HeYi playfully.

"Why would MiNam want to look pretty for ShinWoo?" HeYi asked, tilting her head and smiling smugly at me. I glared at her. She wanted me to hear the answer.

"Oh, didn't you know?" Coordinator Wang asked. "MiNam likes ShinWoo. Shh, don't tell anyone."

With that, Coordinator Wang scurries off to tend to the boys. HeYi smiles at me. I look away. Then, HeYi grabs my arm and drags me along to her make-up table. She sits me down and then plops herself down in front of me.

"I have an idea," she says suddenly. "Want in on it?"

"No," I mutter.

"Since you don't seem to be interested in ShinWoo, will you help me?"Heyi asked. I narrowed my eyes at her. "Help me get Kang ShinWoo with MiNam. Get her away from my TaeKyung."

"Why would I care what you want?" I snap lightly. She stares at me a moment.

"Because you're a woman. And because I know that you know I'm one too," she says simply. There's no mocking in her tone. Once again, she sounds sincere. I even detect a hint of tears in her eyes. And despite me being a cold-ass bitch, I feel bad for her. I sigh.

"The way you love people…" I sigh. "It's really pathetic."

"What?" HeYi asks, her tone cold again.

"It's pathetic. Your love is so sad. Why can't you love yourself more? You don't know how to love. You don't know the proper way to express your feelings," I stand. "And in the end, everyone gets hurt."

"Shut up!" HeYi snaps, looking away from me.

"I didn't come to argue with you. I don't like MiNam any more than you, HeYi. Trust me. I despise her with my every being, just like you. But I understand that if I hurt her, because ShinWoo loves her, I hurt ShinWoo too. Can't you see that?" I can't believe I'm talking like this to the devil fairy. Maybe it's because right now, she's not the devil fairy. Right now, she's just Yoo HeYi. She's just a woman, like me.

"I wasn't asking you to hurt her," HeYi says, looking at me again. "I was asking you to help me get her with him. Isn't that what would make him happy?"

I stare at her a long time. I think about it. HeYi's look is sincere. Is it right? Would it be right? I sigh. I just want him to be happy. I think of Nobu. If ShinWoo is happy, I'll be happy. And if I'm happy, Nobu will be happy.

"What do you want my help with?"

* * *

"MiNam!" I call out to the girl in the boys clothes.

"Y-yeah, sunbae?" she answers. I wave her over, smiling despite the strange sick feeling in my stomach. This was the right thing to do. I was helping out ShinWoo oppa. This will make him happy. I think of the instructions ShinWoo told me.

_"Just once, stand her in front of the man she likes. I'll loan you my clothes and accessories, okay? Then, it's up to you. Make ShinWoo happy and help me."_

"Come here, MiNam. I've got a real nice surprise for you," I tell her. She gives me a quizzical look. "Come on, trust sunbae."

I drag her to the greenhouse, where HeYi had already set up the makeup and clothes I was to put on MiNam. A dark, purple dress with flowers and bows. I sit MiNam down and take apart her hair.

"Sunbae, what are you doing?"

"I'm doing your make-up silly. Coordinator Unnie is busy fixing the guys, so I asked her to let me set you up. I haven't spent time with you in a long time," I tell her. She nods.

"Now, close your eyes so I can do this properly."

She does as I instruct. I pull her hair up into a pin so I can clearly see her face. I'm not as much of a make-up artist as Wang unnie, but I'm not an amateur either. I have my own hand at make-up. I curl MiNam's lashes, applying mascara. I blend a silver, gray, and purple eyeshadow onto her lids. She tries to look at herself.

"Eyes closed," I tell her. I didn't want her to see herself now. I was making her into a girl. She'd definitely stop me if she noticed. Something in my gut twists. This is a good deed, Aimee. Just go with the flow.

"All done," I say, putting away the blush. I hand her a mirror. "Here, look at yourself."

MiNam gasps as she sees her reflection staring back at her.

"S-sunbae! This is a girl's face!" she chokes out.

"I know," I say simply. She starts to panic. "Stop it, MiNam. I know you want to be pretty too. Just this once, Sunbae wants you to have the chance to be pretty. It's pouring outside. No one will see you. You won't get caught. Okay?"

I force a smile at her. I hand her the clothes.

"Here, wear these. Just once, during the rain, you get to be a pretty girl, Go MiNam," I tell her, handing her the dress. She walks to the bathroom to change. And when she comes out, I feel like I might just die. She's beautiful. Nervous, timid, but definitely beautiful. For some reason, it makes me want to cry.

"_Yeppeo,_" I tell her softly. She smiles at me. I reach for my camera. "MiNam, look here."

I snap a photo and smile. I hand it to her as it prints.

"Since you can't always be like this, let's preserve it in a photo," I tell her. She smiles softly up at me.

"Thank you for everything you've done, sunbae," she says. I nod and sniffle just a bit. I laugh lightly. Somehow, I felt as if I was giving something up. If ShinWoo sees her like this, he'll definitely fall hard for her. And that hurt me. But I know this is the right thing to do. I can't be selfish…

"Let me hug you this once, MiNam?" I ask softly. I don't know why I want to, but I just do. MiNam smiles softly, nodding. I pull her into a light hug. She hugs me back.

"Now," I pull away, wiping away little tears. "I'll go out to check for people. Be good. Be pretty, you rascal."

She smiles at me. I smile back and walk out the doors. I blink away tears. Something about seeing her like that…it's strange to me. And knowing that ShinWoo will see her like that as well, just makes it all the more strange for me.

* * *

"Ah! ShinWoo!"

ShinWoo turns as he hears his name being called out. He sees Aimee running over to him, nearly tripping in her high heels. He catches her as she's about to fall. She smiles lightly at him and he thinks about the night before. He really was thankful she'd been there. Her words had made him feel a lot better.

"What is it? Did you need me?" he asked her.

"No," she said, though by the tone she said it, he could tell something was up. She smiled. "I was just wondering what you were doing out here."

"I'm looking for Go MiNam, have you seen him?" ShinWoo asked her. She seemed to think a moment.

"Ah, yeah," she said. "I saw him in the greenhouse. We were talking. Sorry if you worried."

"Oh, I see," he said. Something about him was worried. Had Aimee said anything bad to MiNam? He'd hoped not. After the moment last night, ShinWoo knew Aimee might be angry with MiNam, blaming her for ShinWoo's foolish tears. Aimee was like that.

"I'll go see him then," ShinWoo said, heading for the door.

"I'll go with you. I've got an umbrella," Aimee smiled. "Let's go."

She pulled out her white umbrella, opening it. She held it high above his head. ShinWoo smiled a little and ducked under. He wrapped his hand around the handle, around hers.

"Let me hold it," he said. "You're too short."

Aimee seemed to blush. "Yeah, okay."

They walked towards the trial, heading to the greenhouse in the back of the building. The dirt road was a bit muddy, but not too slippery. However, the winds were strong and the rain was coming down heavy around them. Suddenly, the umbrella was yanked hard by the wind. It flipped inside out, the frame snapping.

"Damn," Aimee cursed, trying to shield herself from the rain. ShinWoo tugged off his coat, pulling it over his and Aimee's head. Damn was right. His hair and make-up had just been fixed. Aimee looked up at him.

"I got it," he said, smiling slightly at her.

"Y-yeah…" she stuttered, looking away from him.

"Is something wrong, Aimee?" ShinWoo asked her.

"No, I was just thinking too much," she muttered. Noticing that he was still staring at her, she chuckled a bit. "Yah, MiNam is going to leave if we don't hurry."

"Right," ShinWoo nodded, remembering.

They walked quickly the rest of the way, determined to get out of the rain. At the door of the greenhouse, ShinWoo pulls the glass door open, waiting for Aimee to go in. But she shakes her head.

"No, I got to head back. You go on in," she says, sounding a bit strange. ShinWoo ponders a moment. He didn't want her to walk back in the rain. But he did want to talk to MiNam alone. He steps halfway inside the door and hand Aimee his jacket.

"Take it," he tells her. "I'll come back later."

"Yeah…" she muttered, taking his jacket. He starts to turn away.

"Oppa!"

ShinWoo turns to look back at her. Aimee smiles softly.

"I'm glad to see you're back," she says, nodding.

"Huh?" he asks. But she's already turned and walked away. Glad he's back? He didn't go anywhere. ShinWoo decides to shrug it off for now and turns to go into the building.

* * *

I run maybe a couple meters in the now slippery mud before I turn and look back at the greenhouse. Slowly, I make my way back to the doors. I don't drape ShinWoo's jacket over my head. Instead, I clutch it in my hand

_I'm glad to see you're back._

I'd meant that I was glad to see him being the way I remember the old ShinWoo being. Kind, gentle, considerate. I'd missed that side of him. A lot. I clutched his jacket to my chest. I was getting soaked, but I didn't care.

I looked into the greenhouse. ShinWoo was standing now, staring at MiNam in her pretty dress. I grit my teeth. It was the right thing to do. I did the right thing.

_Please be happy now, ShinWoo oppa. No more crying…_

**

* * *

**

Author's Note:

Wow. Ehhh….do you guys think Aimee was tricked by HeYi or that she was really doing a good thing? I can't decide either…Hmph. It's okay. Aimee can make mistakes too.

Btw, I looked up some of your suggestions to who should be Aimee. I really like Han HyoJoon! Very cute, yet natural looking =) Not so 'cute and adorable' which is like, opposite of Aimee. Ahahaha. Thanks, guys! Keep reading and reviewing. Love you guys.


	28. Chapter 28

"A-ah…choo!"

I sniffle. Coordinator Wang clicks her tongue at me in disapproval as she rubs a towel over my wet hair.

"Standing in the rain without an umbrella! You're going to get the death of a cold," she says. I sigh.

"I told you, unnie. My umbrella broke," I say. She simply shakes her head in more disapproval.

I look down in my lap at ShinWoo's white jacket. I run my fingers over it, smoothing it over. Jeremy, who's sitting on the other side of the lobby, notices me.

"Yah, noona, you're soaked!" he calls out, coming over to me. "You might get sick. Want me to get you some warm tea or something?"

"Thanks, Jeremy," I smile at him. I'm glad. Everyone seems to be back to normal. Maybe it's just because MiNam isn't around. I frown a little, thinking about her again. I'm exhausted. I sigh deply and close my eyes.

"Unnie," I say.

"Hmm?" Coordinator Wang replies.

"Why is it that when you do the right thing, it can make you feel so terrible?" I ask.

"That really depends, Aimee. What is the 'right thing' you did?" she asks.

"I tried to help two people get together," I mutter. "But it hurts me."

Coordinator Unnie sits down in front of me, "Aimee, are you saying you helped the man you like get with another woman?"

I tensed a little, "Y-yah…I'm just asking."

She clicked her tongue again, "It hurts because you can't let go. Anyway, you shouldn't meddle with matters of the heart. It's too complicated. And everyone just gets hurt."

I frowned. She sighed.

"I know you well enough to know that you're not talking about Nobu," she said quietly.

"Unnie…!" I groan.

"That's right, I'm your unnie," she cuts me off. "And I'm telling you, whoever it is that's hurting you, you should let go. Don't get involved with him anymore. His love problems are his own. Stop trying to help him. It's mighty nice to want to help people, but when you get personally involved it's not good anymore."

"Unnie, I feel so guilty though!" I tell her. "It's like I'm afraid to be happy with someone else because I'm going to really lose him. I can't let go. But because I'm not happy, neither is Nobu. But then if I'm happy, I'm afraid _he_ won't be able to be happy."

"Not everyone can be happy, Aimee," she smiles. "But you shouldn't hold _yourself_ back from being happy for someone else's accord. You just-"

"Unnie! Aimee!"

Coordinator Wang stops. We both turn and see HeYi, clutching to TaeKyung's arm. He has an umbrella in one hand and is looking rather surly.

"I'm going for a walk with TaeKyung oppa, okay?" she says. She gives me a wink. I narrow my eyes at her. This hadn't been discussed between us. What was she doing?

"Ah, okay," Coordinator Wang replied. "Be back when the rain lets up!"

HeYi nodded and she and TaeKyung left. Coordinator Wang turned back to me, but I was already up and after the couple. I grabbed a random umbrella from the front door and headed out. I stayed behind HeYi and TaeKyung, the umbrella over my head. I'm grateful that the wind has let up.

The two walk down the trail, arguing a bit and saying odd things to each other. HeYi pulls the umbrella over her head, getting TaeKyung rained on. I see the greenhouse coming up on our left.

Suddenly, I hear HeYi say, "If you don't want to get rained on, let's go in the greenhouse."

They turn left for the greenhouse. What was HeYi doing? I thought we were working _together_ to _help_ ShinWoo and MiNam! What was she up to? I took off after them, but when I got to the doors, I see TaeKyung and HeYi had already walked in.

Ducking behind a tree, I peek around, and see MiNam and ShinWoo gawking at HeYi and TaeKyung. Their moment had just been ruined. I couldn't hear a word being said in the greenhouse, so I just had to wait.

It was only a couple seconds later when I saw TaeKyung barge out the greenhouse without an umbrella. HeYi comes after him, holding an umbrella.

"Yah! TaeKyung! Use my umbrella with me!" she calls to him. He snaps around to face her.

"Get lost!" he screams and runs off. HeYi chases after him.

_Why is he so angry? What did they say to him?_

I want to take off after him, see what's wrong. But I turn back to ShinWoo and MiNam. They say a few words. I see their lips moving. MiNam is crying. ShinWoo puts a hand on her shoulder. Why is she crying? Why?

A sudden truth hit me.

MiNam likes TaeKyung. TaeKyung likes MiNam.

No! I shake my head. Let it be a stupid assumption. No. That's not right. But the more I think about it, it seems more real. There were lots of chances for MiNam to fall for TaeKyung. He took care of her. She was close to him because he knew her secret. I think of the hairclip and the clothes MiNam had been wearing that night. Had TaeKyung bought them? My mind raced.

* * *

"Don't worry, ShinWoo hyung," MiNam says to him, her tears running down her face.

His heart breaks for her. How can he not worry? He wants to say it now. I love you. I love you. I always loved you. I always knew. But he didn't want to say it and make her feel worse. She liked TaeKyung. Of all people, she liked TaeKyung.

"I'll get my feelings under control so it won't show," she sniffles. He resists the urge to reach over and brush her tears away. "I'll change and go back to being a boy."

_No. Don't. I want to keep looking at you…_

She turns and walks away from him. ShinWoo wants to take her hand and hold onto her, but he lets her walk away. She's not ready yet. She's not ready for him. He'll wait and bear just a little longer. So all he can do is turn and walk away. He walks out into the rain, not caring about his make-up or his hair. He just walks. He follows the trail until he gets to an open secluded area.

ShinWoo looks up to the raining sky. He lets the rain wash away his tears. ShinWoo opens his mouth and screams into the sky. It doesn't make the pain go away. MiNam liked TaeKyung. ShinWoo screams again. More tears. More pain.

"Do you want to share my umbrella, or are you going to sit in the rain a while longer so that people passing won't know if you're crying or it's just the rain running down your cheeks?"

ShinWoo turns and sees Aimee standing there, in her cute puffy pink shirt and blue shorts, a red umbrella over her head. The way she's looking at him, makes him feel strange. As if she was the one hurting, as if she would cry herself. ShinWoo closes his eyes a moment and sighs.

"I'm a fool," he mumbles.

Aimee doesn't answer him. He opens his eyes to see her just looking at him, speechless. Once again, the way she's looking at him irks him. The pain in her eyes reflects his own, and he wants to ask why. Why is she hurting? She had Nobu. He had no one. No one loved him. Nobu loved her, at least.

"Stupid," she says, her voice barely a whisper. Suddenly, she drops her umbrella. The next moments blurred together through his tears and pain. All he knows is that suddenly, he feels lips pressed to his own.

His senses come back to him. But before he can push Aimee away, she pulls back. She stares at him, looking horrified. Then, she turns and runs before he can say anything. ShinWoo watches, still in shock, as Aimee runs from him. Slowly, he reached up to touch his lips.

_What was that about?_

* * *

"I did a foolish thing," MiNam muttered to herself. She reached to take her hair apart when she suddenly heard a voice.

"Yes, you're a fool."

She turns, and is horrified at the site of Yoo HeYi. A true devil. Pardon her words, but hellspawn, that evil woman. MiNam gulps.

"Coming here from the beginning was a bad thing to do," HeYi walks up to her, nothing but ice in her tone and on her face. "You should've stayed at the convent and become a nun."

MiNam gasps. How did she know about that? Why did it seem that she knew everything? HeYi seemed to take amusement in MiNam's shock. She went on, rubbing the fact that MiNam had to leave into her face.

"When you're done playing Go MiNam, will you go back to the convent?" HeYi asked, mockingly. "If you as my opinion, I'd suggest being a nun in Rome. Just do that crap again."

"Yoo HeYi," MiNam spoke up, offended. "Even if I were to give up that path, it's not your business and you shouldn't talk to recklessly about it."

"Wow, you seem pretty arrogant," HeYi scoffed, smirking. "So then, go back to the _grand_ path of yours."

"Yoo HeYi!"MiNam snapped. She was upset now. She thought about this. It was HeYi's plan. She'd been plotting to ruin MiNam. But then, MiNam thought of Aimee. Had Aimee known as well? Was she too, out to get MiNam? No. Sunbae wouldn't do that…

"Get away from my TaeKyung!" HeYi shouted at MiNam. "Tagging by his side, aren't you afraid he'll realize you? If he's nice to you, you automatically get your hopes up! And then, even if you won't admit it, you want him, right? _Right?_"

MiNam stared daggers at HeYi, wishing she would disappear. Her heart wrenched. Every other word was twisting the knife in MiNam's chest.

"Do you really want Hwang TaeKyung to see your laughable state?! Do you want to be found out?!" HeYi continued.

"I won't be found out. And hyung-nim won't see my laughable state," MiNam replied, softer now. HeYi had the power. She could crush MiNam with the tip of her manicured finger. MiNam thought of Aimee again. And despite herself, she couldn't help but feel betrayed.

_By her very own sunbae…_

"Yoo HeYi!"

The two girls turn and see a reporter burst through the doors.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Note:**

Ugh. Sorry guys. My chapters have been short. I just wanted to get this one out before tomorrow cause I have a birthday party to run (my lil bro) and I won't be on.I'll try to get another chapter in before week's end! Love you guy very very much =)And OMG Aimee kissed ShinWoo!!!! -spazzes- Idk why I put that in there...eh....-cough- Nobu, where are you? . ahahaha. =)

Also, I'm probably going to make another trailer with Han HyoJoon. =) I got some new clips! ;D


	29. Chapter 29

I sneeze loudly and cough.

"Yah, are you okay?" Nobu asks. It's dark. After the photoshoot, after my little run-in with ShinWoo, I'd come back to the building to find Nobu awake and lively. Immediately, guilt settled in for my actions. I couldn't look at Nobu.

"I'm okay," I mutter.

"Did something happen?" Nobu asked, uncertain of my answer. I shook my head.

I dropped Nobu off at his dorm and see him inside. After a brief 'good night', I left for home again. I made my way quietly into the house, not talking to anyone. Though, I did notice that Jeremy was the only one home. TaeKyung and MiNam were out. Probably together. I had no idea where ShinWoo was.

What was he doing? TaeKyung, that is. He was with HeYi. And MiNam…I had thought she liked ShinWoo. I really feel a fool. I groan, throwing myself onto the bed. I'd just made ShinWoo's love life worse. I guess he really _did_ have an unrequited love. Just like me. And to add onto it, I must've confused him more with that last kiss. I touched my lips.

Suddenly, my cell phone rings. I pick it up.

"Aimee!" TaeKyung says, before I can even say hello.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, hearing his slightly panicked tone.

"MiNam's been found out," he whispers.

"What?!" I shout.

"A reporter found a picture of her in the greenhouse dressed as a girl," TaeKyung explained. "We're about to go meet ShinWoo to do some damage control. Just giving you a heads up. I'll tell you the plan once we know. Let Jeremy in on this too."

"Yeah," I tell him. A quick 'bye' and then we hang up. I sighed.

_That picture…_

Why hadn't MiNam taken care of it? I grow angry. She's going to ruin us all. Stupid. Stupid! I get to my feet and run to Jeremy's room.

* * *

ShinWoo pulls into the parking lot of the park. MiNam lets out a breath beside him, having just got over a tough interview with Reporter Kim. ShinWoo gives her a small reassuring smile.

"Do you want to change?" he asks.

"Yes, I feel a bit awkward in my girl clothes," she says, flashing a nervous smile.

He nodded, and stepped out of the car. He leaned back against it, looking off into the dark sky. After a couple minutes, MiNam came out of the car, dressed like a boy once more. Even so, ShinWoo thought she looked adorable.

ShinWoo smiled, "I wanted to spend a little more time with my girlfriend, but my brother-in-law showed up too suddenly."

MiNam smiled a little at his teasing, "I'm sorry, ShinWoo hyung."

"Don't be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong and the interview went well," he smiled at her. That's all he ever did. He smiled reassuringly and backed her up one-hundred percent.

"That's because ShinWoo hyung did everything for me!" MiNam pouted. "I was so nervous I couldn't even say anything."

ShinWoo chuckled a bit, "True. You were clumsy. We should prepare in case something like this happens again."

"I'll give it my best shot!" MiNam nodded eagerly. She was so darn cute.

"Then, first," ShinWoo said slowly. "We should write the love story of Kang ShinWoo and Go MiNyu."

"Love story?" MiNam tilted her head. ShinWoo nodded, and pulled her over to the jungle gym in the center of the park.

"Shall we begin with our first meeting?" ShinWoo asked, grinning. He remembered. "The day on top of the rooftop of the club."

ShinWoo could still remember it clearly. The way MiNyu had been drunk and had fallen on him as he picked her up. That's when he had first found her out. But she had no idea. It was okay. They could play for now.

"It was the day A. first welcomed Go MiNam as their newest addition to the group," ShinWoo said, pushing MiNam around in a circle along the little thing in the center of the gym (Sorry, IDK what it's called! XD)

"Ah, I remember!" MiNam smiled up at him.

"You were drinking champagne…" ShinWoo smirked. "But then you were so drunk and couldn't even walk properly."

"And because I was so drunk, I couldn't remember anything about that day," MiNam added onto the story. "Just like now, getting dizzy like this makes me feel sort of drunk."

Suddenly, MiNam toppled over. ShinWoo caught her, wrapping his arms around her. He let her linger a moment before he spoke.

"You were drunk and you fell. I caught you and held you in my arms," he said softly.

MiNam pushed off of him, staring at him strangely. ShinWoo smiled, but the words were caught in his throat. He wanted to say it. Now. _That's how I knew. I've known all along._

"That's when I first met you as a woman," he said, his tone all seriousness. MiNam blinked at him. She's not ready. He forced a smile.

"'Hello there, Miss Go Mi Nyu!' That's what I said to you," he said, adding onto their _love story._ "So, then, we can start off as a guy and a girl."

ShinWoo looked away a moment as MiNam pondered his words. Then, she nodded. He sighed softly. She wasn't ready for him to tell her everything yet. He looked back up at her, smiling. He took her hand, and walked her to the swings.

"So, if you call me Miss Go MiNyu, what do I call you?" MiNam asked suddenly.

"I told you to call me Oppa," he told her, ruffling her hair. "You called me ShinWoo oppa right away and we got really close."

Then, the strangest thing happened. Aimee's face popped into his mind. He paused a moment. For some reason, he was thinking of her right now. He thought briefly about their first meeting.

_Aimee stared at the handsome man a long moment. He smiled at her, the way he always smiled. He raised his hand and waved slightly to her._

_"Hello, Miss Jung Aimee," he said. "I'm Kang ShinWoo. I hope we can work together well."_

_"Kang ShinWoo?" she repeated his name slowly. TaeKyung scoffed from beside ShinWoo._

_"Aimee, don't be rude," he scolded. Aimee pouted._

_"Yah! I didn't say anything!" she crossed her arms, but then uncrossed them again. She smiled at him and bowed._

_"Nice to meet you. I also hope we can work well together!" she replied happily. Then, she tapped her chin._

_"Since TaeKyung is my Oppa, and you both will be working together closely, I'll call you Oppa too, okay?" she said. ShinWoo looked at her a moment. No one had called him 'oppa' right away after meeting him. It was a bit strange, but he smiled nonetheless. She was a bright, sunny girl. He liked her._

_"Fine by me," he said. She clapped her hands together._

_"ShinWoo oppa. Great!" she said, wedging herself between TaeKyung and ShinWoo. ShinWoo smiled. It was kind of sweet to hear her call him 'oppa'. She hooked her arms through theirs. _

_"Yah, monkey," TaeKyung scoffed. "Intimate body contact isn't very Korean."_

_Aimee didn't reply. She simply smiled on. TaeKyung shook his head and looked to ShinWoo._

_"She spent quite a lot of time in America. Don't mind her," he told ShinWoo, who simply smirked in amusement._

"ShinWoo hyung?"

MiNam's voice brought ShinWoo back. He looked at her, smiling once more.

"Try calling me Oppa," he told her. She hesitated a moment.

"Shi-ShinWoo oppa," she said. Then, she laughed a little. "It feels really awkward saying it now."

He simply smiled, ruffling her hair again. Then, they walked to the swings. MiNam sat down and ShinWoo gave her a slight push. He tried to think of things to add to the story. But he thought of Aimee again. Strange. But he did.

"Our relationship kicked off pretty fast," he said. "I asked you to go to the amusement park with me. You really liked amusement parks, so that was our first date."

ShinWoo closed his eyes a moment. He smiled a bit as he thought about the way he and Aimee had been such kids, riding the merry-go-round and the roller coasters. That had been the day MiNam had left him for TaeKyung. Aimee had asked him to the amusement park.

"We rode the Viking and the merry-go-round," ShinWoo opened his eyes again. "It was a lot of fun."

True. He'd had fun with Aimee.

"Our date at the amusement park," MiNam nodded. ShinWoo frowned a little. Too bad it couldn't have been their date. But he continued on with the story.

"After that, we went to Myung Dong and we had noodles, ice cream, and even went shopping," he smiled a bit, remember _that_ day. That had been real, even if MiNam hadn't known it.

"You always ran to be wherever I wanted to go," ShinWoo said, softly. If only that had been true. ShinWoo smiled, and for a moment, he might've actually believed this fantasy story. It was partially true. Partially. And that was all he could've wished for. It was enough for him right now.

"I ran to wherever ShinWoo hyung…I mean, ShinWoo oppa called me," MiNam nodded, taking in his stories. ShinWoo felt an ache in his chest. She couldn't even call him oppa naturally. She only saw him as a hyung.

"We're making progress with the story," ShinWoo said after a moment. He walked to stand in front of her and looked her in the eye.

"But…there's a question we haven't answered yet that reporters always ask," ShinWoo said slowly. He stared at her. She blinked back at him.

* * *

I walked into the kitchen. My stomach ached. I felt as if I hadn't eaten in ages. It felt true. When was the last time I'd eaten? I looked into the fridge and found a random bit of half a cake. I shrugged. I placed it on the counter and picked at it with a fork. I kept thinking about ShinWoo and Nobu. Tears pricked at my eyes, but I didn't let them fall. I'd cried enough since my dad died. I didn't need to cry more.

Suddenly, TaeKyung came down from the stairs. He looked at me.

"I was just-" he paused and narrowed his eyes at me. "Are you crying?"

"N-no," I quickly wipe my tears away, and cover my face. TaeKyung walks over to me. He takes my hands off my face and sighs.

"Are we really that distant?" he asked.

"O-oppa…" I mutter and hug him. He patted my back.

"Okay, Jung Aimee," he says, a bit uneasily. Maybe it's because it's been a while since I hugged him. But it was okay. It felt good to hug him again. And in that moment, everything felt okay. Between us. I pulled away from TaeKyung.

"Great," I laugh dryly. "I feel lame now."

"You _are_ lame," Taekyung scoffed, though he smiled. "Crying here, getting fat off cake and then hugging me!"

I stick my tongue out at him and offer him a bite of cake. He shakes his head.

"I don't like chocolate," he crosses his arms. "You know that."

"So? You're not allergic. You won't die," I make a face at him. He smirks and takes the bite I hand him. He makes a face. I laugh.

The door opens. TaeKyung and I turn. ShinWoo and MiNam walk in. Normally, I'd feel down, but I'm in a good mood now. I'm glad to finally be okay with my best friend again. ShinWoo and MiNam look at TaeKyung and me.

"Want some cake?" I ask them both. ShinWoo stares at me a moment, strangely, but then, shakes his head.

"No, thanks," he says.

"MiNam?" I ask, holding up the cake and looking at her. She bites her lip, looking slightly angry. I wonder why. She gives me a cold look. I put the cake down.

"Yah, is something wrong?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at her. She stomps over to me, sticking her nose in my face. I shrink back, surprised at her suddenness.

"Do you think it's so funny to make me feel small? You and HeYi! I can't believe my own sunbae would try to hurt me," MiNam said, not exactly shouting, but very loudly.

"What?!" I ask. Was she crazy? It took me a moment to realize what she meant. Yoo HeYi. Earlier at the greenhouse. Was that how she saw it? That _I_ had done something to her? I scoffed.

"Well that's okay. Because I don't need a sunbae like you…and anyway, I'm not embarrassed about my feelings anymore!" MiNam continued. Then, she turned and stomped away from me.

Anger twitched beneath my skin. She hadn't even bothered to ask the truth before yelling at me. I know it must look bad, but my pride wasn't going to let me get yelled at for nothing.

"Aimee!" TaeKyung called as I stomped away and grabbed my keys from the door.

I get into my car and drive out to Myung Dong. It's late and dark, but I don't care. I pull to a stop in front of the nearest bar. On either side, it's surrounded by more bars, but then a random hair salon. I bite my lip. I could go for a drink. I step out of the car.

* * *

"Can we talk?"

MiNam looks up at Aimee, dressed strangely, with her hood up and a big scarf around her neck. MiNam didn't really want to talk now. Especially not with Aimee. Especially with Aimee's death-cold look on her face. But MiNam suddenly felt guilty. She _had _said some terrible things. And Aimee was a strong person. She probably was a bit angry at MiNam, even though it was Aimee's fault anyways. MiNam agreed to talk to her. Aimee sat on a bean bag chair across from MiNam. MiNam sat as well. Aimee didn't meet her eye.

"I know you don't like me," MiNam said, quickly. "You don't have to lie to me."

"Look," Aimee stared her down. "I'll make it clear right now that yes, I didn't like you. But not for the reason you think."

MiNam stared at her. She sighed.

"You once asked me if I liked ShinWoo, I said no," Aimee muttered. "I lied."

"I figured that much," MiNam said, looking away from Aimee.

"Yeah," she sighed. "And I saw him be kind to you. He and you were 'close'…"

"And you also heard from Manager Ma that I liked ShinWoo? And so you thought he liked me, and you were jealous?" MiNam asked. Aimee stared at her strangely for a moment, then nodded.

"But then, at the greenhouse, you were the one who dressed me up and…you sent ShinWoo in? Why?" MiNam asked, suddenly very confused. Aimee looked up at her.

"Look, I'm sorry you got hurt because of what I did. I won't lie. Me and HeYi made the plan," she said. "I didn't do it for you though."

"What?"

"I didn't do it for you," Aimee repeated. "I did it for ShinWoo oppa. I thought he liked you. But he was just too shy. So I wanted to help him out. I didn't know HeYi was going to take it a step further and use it to push TaeKyung away from you."

"You…know about TaeKyung and me?" MiNam asked. She was horrified. Did _everyone_ know or something? Damn.

"I know you like him, and…" Aimee trailed off a moment. "But I didn't know until after everything that happened. I don't expect you to forgive me, because although I didn't mean any harm, I still hurt you. And…I haven't been a very good sunbae as of late."

MiNam was silent a moment. She stared at Aimee, who wasn't looking at her. Aimee kept her head bowed, looking to the floor. Her honesty made MiNam glad. So it hadn't been _all_ Aimee.

"I really admire you, Jung Aimee," MiNam smiled, suddenly. "It's real love, when you're willing to give up someone for their own happiness despite your own feelings. And you know you did wrong. HeYi is manipulative and scornful. She's the one to blame, not you."

Aimee shot her a cold look, "Why are you so nice? Or…do you just not know how to hate anyone? Are your really so naïve?"

MiNam wasn't offended. She smiled again, "I really think this way. Hating is just too tiring."

Now, it was Aimee's turn to be silent. Aimee stared at her.

"Hating…is tiring?" she asked softly. Then, she sighed. "You're right. Why should I be this tired? Always hating someone, something…myself. It's time I started over from the very beginning. Rethink my life…"

Suddenly, she reached up and pulled off the beret on her head. MiNam expected her wavy long black hair to fall around her shoulders, but the hair MiNam saw wasn't the long wavy hair. Aimee's hair had been cut in many shorter layers into a bob that reached only her chin. MiNam gasped.

"Your hair…"

**

* * *

**

Author's Note:

SOoooo….once again, it's been a while since I updated, haha. Sorry guys! =) I was going to update sooner today, but it was a day off and all my friends came over and we had fun, hehehe. I'll keep writing for today until I got to go back to work =) Also..got homework. Blah. Damn. lol.

OMG. I got a new trailer out! YAY!! ^.^

http[colon]//www[dot]youtube[dot]com/watch?v=bcra8o8vtSs


	30. Chapter 30

"Your hair…!" MiNam exclaimed, seeing Aimee's new haircut. Aimee stared off at the ground, looking distracted.

"Three years. It's been three years," she said. "Three years. Three years I've loved him."

She looked up at MiNam, tearing up. MiNam had never seen Aimee cry before.

"And I'll continue to love him for another five years," she said. "Then, another five. And another five…"

MiNam stared at Aimee as she sniffled. MiNam's own eyes began to tear up. It was somehow heartbreaking to watch her sunbae cry.

"I'm sure I'll always love him," Aimee said. "But it's time I start over. After the things you said, I realize I haven't been a good sunbae. I've been selfish. I hurt TaeKyung. I hurt ShinWoo. I hurt you. I hurt Nobu."

Aimee looked up. She saw MiNam crying.

"Why are you crying?!" Aimee said, her voice cracking.

"I'm just touched," MiNam managed to squeak out.

"What are you touched about?" Aimee sniffled. "Don't you know it's embarrassing to cry in front of people?"

Aimee sniffled again and reached up to wipe away her tears. MiNam scrambled to grab her tissue box. She ran over to Aimee.

"Don't cry! Don't cry!" she said. "What am I supposed to do when my sunbae cries?"

"Rascal," Aimee cried, taking some tissue from MiNam. She blew her nose and wiped her tears. Then, she looked at MiNam. She smiled a bit, and then laughed. MiNam laughed as well. It seemed really ridiculous the way they were both crying here. Aimee reached over and hugged MiNam, who hugged her sunbae back.

"MiNam, you looked really scary when you got mad at me," Aimee said suddenly. MiNam laughed some more.

"Sorry, sunbae. I don't know what came over me," MiNam smiled. "That's not like me at all."

"Or is it?" Aimee asked, teasing. MiNam smiled.

* * *

I slipped into the kitchen, my arm over MiNam's shoulders. The talk went a lot better than I had expected. She had seemed so angry at me. And I'd been angry at her. I thought one of us would break. But now, I think, we're closer than ever before. I fingered my new short hair. It felt strange, but it felt fresh and new.

Jeremy, ShinWoo, and TaeKyung look up at me and MiNam as we walk in. They gawk at my hair.

"N-noona! Your hair!" Jeremy gaped.

"I thought I needed something new," I said, putting my hands on my hips and smiling.

"It looks great," Jeremy gives me a thumbs up.

"You look like a kid again," TaeKyung smirks. "Like when you first started out at A.N."

ShinWoo didn't say anything to me. Everyone looked to him, but he walked out. MiNam glanced at me nervously. I forced a smile at her.

"It's okay," I tell her.

"No, it's because of what I said about you," MiNam shook her head. "I'll go talk to him."

Before I could object, MiNam turned and took off after ShinWoo. I smiled a bit. She was trying, now that she knew for sure. I sighed. There was still Nobu to be dealt with. I had to decide if I really loved him or not. Did I want to be with him?

"I see you made up with Go MiNam," TaeKyung said suddenly from beside me. "What was that all about anyways?"

"Just a misunderstanding," I say quickly. "I'll tell you about it later. I got to run. I have some things I need to talk to Nobu about."

"Okay," TaeKyung said.

"See ya, noona!" Jeremy called after me. I waved to him and took off.

* * *

"ShinWoo hyung!" MiNam called after ShinWoo. He paused in the doorway to his room. He turned and looked at her.

"I don't want to talk about Aimee," he said simply. MiNam frowned.

"You should at least hear me out. I didn't mean what I said the other night. It was wrong. I just misunderstood sunbae," she explained. "I don't want you to be angry with her for hurting me. It wasn't her fault."

"Either way, it's more complicated than that," ShinWoo sighed. MiNam stared at him.

"How?" she asked. "How can it be more complicated than it already is?"

ShinWoo sighed again, "I just…don't understand Aimee."

He seemed deep in thought. MiNam almost turned and left him to himself, but she was determined. She'd seen the love Aimee had for ShinWoo. And she would do everything in her power to help her sunbae. _This_ was the least she could do.

"What don't you understand about Aimee?" MiNam asked, more softly.

"I don't know," ShinWoo sounded frustrated. "I don't want to talk about it."

"ShinWoo hyung is very kind to me," MiNam said. "I don't want ShinWoo hyung to be frustrated. Talk to me."

ShinWoo stared at her a moment. He leaned back against the wall. He sighed. He was going to talk. MiNam knew it.

"When I see Aimee, I tense up. It's like she can see right through me. She knows me very well," ShinWoo smiled a little. "And when I saw her with her hair, I was reminded of when I first met her. She was bright, sunny, and happy. The way she was before. We used to be really close."

"Close?" MiNam asked. "Like the way you and I are 'close'?"

ShinWoo paused a moment. He didn't reply.

"ShinWoo hyung, do you love Aimee as more than a friend?" MiNam asked. "Is Aimee the one you said you liked?"

ShinWoo stared long at her. Then, he answered her.

"No."

* * *

"Yeobeosayo?"

"It's Aimee," I say into my phone.

"Mhm," Nobu replied.

"I'm going to stop by. Is that okay?" I ask.

"I'm not at home. I'm at my dad's house," Nobu said.

"Aw, I wanna meet your dad!" I say, totally forgetting my purpose of coming to see him in the first place. Why was I so eager to meet his dad? I don't know. I laughed.

"No. No way," Nobu sounded horrified.

"Come on!"

Nobu groaned. "Okay, fine."

He gave me the address. I turned along the street and drove until I reached his dad's house. It was big. Bigger than the A. dorm. I wondered what his dad did for a living. It was a big white house with pillars and a huge colorful garden. I knocked on the big wooden door.

"Your hair," was the first thing Nobu said as he opened the door.

"Nice to see you too," I smiled at him. He moved aside in his wheelchair to let me in. He gives me a slight smirk as he continues to examine my hair.

"_Kawaii ne_!"

I turn and see a tall, older man running at me. Before I can even scream, the man wraps his arms around me. I'm used to touchy-ness, but not from total strangers. I flail my arms and legs, screaming.

"Yah! You old fart! Let go of her!" Nobu yells.

"Oh, _mianhae mianhae_," the man says, putting me down. I back away from him, clutching onto Nobu's arm.

"Aimee, meet my dad," Nobu says, sighing.

"I'm so grateful to finally meet you! It's been such a long time since I've met one of Nobu's girlfriends," the man grins at me. I notice he's wearing a blue Hello Kitty apron. He looks kind of like Nobu, too, only with shorter hair and not so scruffy. Older, definitely, too.

"Dad…" Nobu sighed and slapped his forehead. I give Nobu's dad a nervous smile.

"Nice to meet you, Ahjussi," I bowed. "I'm Jung Aimee."

"Ahh," he cooed. "_Kawaii ne._"

"Eh?" I ask.

"He's saying you're really cute," Nobu said suddenly. He wheeled himself past his dad.

"I'm going into the kitchen. Come on, Aimee," Nobu said.

"Uhm…" I trail off.

"It's okay, don't be shy," Nobu's dad nodded. "You can call me Apa, Mee-Mee."

"Mee-mee?" I ask. He smiles, taking me by my shoulders and dragging me to the kitchen. I see a large batch of cooking supplies laid out on the island in the center of the kitchen.

"I've always wanted such a cute daughter-in-law!" Nobu's dad sighs happily. Nobu turns beet red.

"Shut it, you old fart," he snaps.

"Aiya…." Nobu's dad shakes his head. "You shouldn't be so rude, you know. I'm your only father. What if, one day, I just died? What would you-"

"Blah blah blah blah blah," Nobu turned his dad out. "I know, Apa. I know."

"Mee-mee," Nobu's dad calls. "I'm going to make you both a _big_ meal! I'm so happy you came!"

"Y-yeah?" I reply. "That's good. Let me help."

"No!" he says strictly as I reach to help him. "No no no. You just sit there and take care of yourself and my son now. This is me cooking a meal for my two children!"

"_Apa…!_" Nobu groaned. "Please stop cooking. And take off that _hideous_ apron."

Nobu's dad stared at Nobu a minute before he covered his face with his hands and started…sobbing? My eyes widened. Was Nobu's dad…crying?!

"Mee-mee!" I let out a screech as Nobu's dad grabs my hands. "Do you think it's unmanly that I like to cook? And this apron, do you not think it's cute?!"

"A-ah…" I stutter. Nobu rolls his eyes.

"Old fart, leave her be. You're scaring her!" he scolded. "So embarrassing…"

Nobu's dad ignored him. He looked at me, his eyes big and hopeful.

"V-very manly," I give him a nervous thumps up. His face breaks into a wide grin. He runs back to the stove and begins cooking.

"I'll make lots of dishes!" I watch, my eyes wide as I see how quickly he's moving about the kitchen. I chuckle. He's actually kind of cute. Very childish and naïve. Not like Nobu at all. Nobu comes up beside me, shaking his head.

"I…cannot…believe…you're here right now," Nobu buries his face in his hands. "My dad's a total freak."

"He's cute," I tilt my head, smirking at Nobu, who groans.

"Come on," he wheels into what I find is the living room. He pulls himself from his wheelchair and settles on the couch. I sit down beside him. I'm caught off guard as he grabs my arm and pulls me into his lap.

"Y-yah…!" I fall back onto him. He hugs me. I struggle to be free from him.

"Shush," he says softly. I sigh. We sit like that a long time. I don't even know how long. Nobu just holds me. Nobu's dad's voice breaks the moment.

"Food is ready!"

I finally break away from Nobu. I help him to get into his wheelchair and together we go into the kitchen. The smell of many herbs and dishes hit me. As I look at the set table, my jaw nearly hits the ground.

"Apa, you overdid it again," Nobu says plainly from my side. He tugs my arm, ushering me to sit down. I fell back into a chair. Nobu's dad leans over, his arm on either of our shoulders.

"I didn't know Mee-Mee's tastes, so I made lots of dishes," he said, looking dead-on determined. "Too bad I didn't have more time. I would've made more."

I stare at the plates of seasoned fish, shrimp salad, stir-fried noodles, and rolled eggs. How long had Nobu and I been sitting on the couch?! Either we'd been sitting a _long_ time, or Ahjussi could really cook _really_ fast.

"A-ah, Ahjussi, this is great," I tell him.

"Aiya!" he says, "I said, call me Apa."

"No one's going to call you Apa, old fart," Nobu groans. "Creepy."

Nobu snorted, "Anyway, don't you know how many children in Africa are starving? Why don't you donate some food to them, huh?"

Nobu's dad sighed deeply, "My son. Handsome, kind, and generous. Always thinking about others."

I giggled. Nobu frowned, and picked up his chopsticks and plunged into his food. Nobu's dad sat at the table across from me. I sighed softly and decided to start eating as well.

The food was delicious. Nobu's dad wasn't at all shy with asking me questions either. He asked me what I did; how I met Nobu; whether Nobu was being a good boy…etc. Eventually, Nobu got irritated with his father and left the kitchen. Nobu's dad frowned. I felt I needed to comfort him somehow.

"Don't worry, Ahjussi," I smile at Nobu's dad. "Nobu's just shy."

He managed to smile a little, "I know I embarrass him. I'm just really worried for him all the time. He's a man now, but he's my only boy. I've already lost my wife. And I nearly lost him in that accident of his. I just worry a lot."

I can't help but feel a pang of guilt. The accident had been my fault. I hadn't thought about anyone but me that night. Before the accident, I thought Nobu was nothing but an arrogant, stupid, jerk. I would've never guessed he was the world to someone like this.

"Sorry, I'm rambling," Nobu's dad put on his cheery grin again. "Would you like to see Nobu's baby pictures? He was really cute!"

"Oh my god," I burst into giggles. "Was he really? You must show me!"

Nobu's dad gets up and runs over to the living room. I follow him. He hauls a giant scrapbook onto the coffee table and pulls it open. I see hoards of pictures of a cute, tiny boy dressed in matching suit pieces and bow ties. I break into giggles.

"Aww!" I coo. "He was adorable! Like a little girl!"

"Yeah," Nobu's dad smiles. "And look here. He was crying!"

I smile as I glance at Nobu's baby face, twisted into a baby-like whine. Somehow, it seemed sort of personal being here with his dad looking over baby pictures. Kind of precious, too. I suddenly remember the reason I came over in the first place. For some reason, the thought of being without Nobu suddenly saddens me now. Looking at these baby pictures makes me feel closer to him. And sitting beside his dad also.

"My wife and I always spoiled him growing up. I think I did it worse when his mother died," Nobu's dad smiles a bit. "He's quite scary sometimes, but I know he's just lonely on the inside."

"Ahjussi," I lay a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I know Nobu can't _not_ feel the love you have for him."

Nobu's dad grins, suddenly pulling me into a hug.

"Mee-Mee! You're really like a little angel! Even your words are so touching and honest," he says, sounding on the verge of tears. "I know you'll be the one able to change that scary Nobu and bring out the gently, kind, man he is!"

I feel the pang of guilt again. How can I leave Nobu? I frown. Things just definitely got more complicated.

**

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**

Author's Note:

Sorry guys! I know, I haven't updated in FOREVER. I was grounded, hehehe. XDD Here's the newest chapter. ShinWoo is making me mad =PP MiNam is being really naïve again…and well, Aimee is just complicating her life, ahaha. =)

Posting this link for whoever hasn't seen it yet-

http[colon]//www[dot]youtube[dot]com/watch?v=bcra8o8vtSs


	31. Chapter 31

I sigh, pulling into the driveway of the dorms. I'd made a quick excuse to leave Nobu's dad's house. It was so suffocating. The guilt was killing me. I didn't want to be there. I came home, and saw HeYi's car parked in the driveway. I sighed another deep sigh. I go inside and see Jeremy, TaeKyung, and ShinWoo in the kitchen eating fried rice.

"Ah! Noona! Are you hungry? Have some fried rice!" Jeremy calls as he sees me.

"No thanks, I just ate," I tell him with a smile.

"Excuse me, I have to go get something," ShinWoo says suddenly, standing exiting the room. I give another exasperated sigh. Whatever. I walk over to the kitchen table and sit down. TaeKyung looks up at me.

"What's with you?" TaeKyung asked.

"I'm tired, too much drama," I sigh.

"It's typical for someone like you," he says simply and continues eating. "Drama queen."

Jeremy snickers a bit. I stick my tongue out at them and stand, going towards my room. I bump into ShinWoo as he turns the corner to go back into the kitchen. Our eyes lock a moment. I open my mouth to say something to him when suddenly, I hear Go MiNam.

"I-I have to take off my shoes before I come in the house!" I hear her panicked voice.

"He has to see this. It's okay. They're new shoes," I hear Yoo HeYi.

ShinWoo and I both turn to see HeYi pushing MiNam down the hall towards us. In MiNam's arms is a large basket of roses. She stumbles to a stop in front of us, her mouth agape. HeYi smirks behind her. I look at ShinWoo, who's eyes are wide, looking at MiNam's feet. I turn my head, and my jaw drops as I see a pair of pink patent leather shoes with little bows.

The shoes I'd picked out for ShinWoo to give to MiNam.

I glanced at ShinWoo. He didn't seem to notice me. TaeKyung and Jeremy suddenly appear at our side. A dark expression crosses over ShinWoo's face. Anger twitches in me. I look at HeYi, who simply grins in satisfaction. ShinWoo locks eyes with HeYi, death written over his face. HeYi simply smirks wider.

"I saw you bought some gifts in your car, but you never gave them away," Heyi says, a sweet evil smile on her face. "I wanted to see who you bought them for. But…why do they fit Go MiNam perfectly?"

ShinWoo's eyes don't leave HeYi's. I see him ball his fists. From the look in his eyes, I think he might actually hit her. I bite my lip.

"They seem to have been sitting in your car a long time," HeYi goes on. "Why didn't you give them away?"

ShinWoo's jaw muscles clench, but he doesn't say a word.

"MiNam, don't you think the dress shoes look nice?" HeYi turns to MiNam, who looks extremely nervous with the tension in the room.

"T-these aren't for me!" MiNan quickly puts the basket down and removes the shoes. I wonder if that really helped the situation, or just made it worse. "These belong to someone already! I'm really sorry, ShinWoo hyung!"

"ShinWoo, really now, tell me, who are these shoes for?" HeYi asks, and the satisfaction dripping from her words are too much for me. I reach over and slap her across the face. Everyone goes silent and my slap rings in the air. HeYi's head snaps to one side before she looks back at me, glaring.

"Yah!" she shouts. "What was-!"

I can't hold back my anger anymore. I leap at her, swinging my fists at her. She ducks away, screaming.

"You're a horrible, horrible person! Bitch!" I shout over and over. Jeremy and TaeKyung grab me, holding me back from HeYi. Finally, I shove them off and turn my back to HeYi. Taekyung grabs her hand and drags her outside. Jeremy keeps a hand on my shoulder, trying to calm me.

I look up at ShinWoo, my jaw clenched. I'm angry at him too. How could he just stand there and say nothing? I shrug off Jeremy's hand and push past ShinWoo. Maybe staying at Nobu's house would've been better. I clench my fists so hard that my nails dig into my skin.

* * *

ShinWoo ignores the look Aimee gives him before she pushes past him and stomps off to her room. He didn't need that from her. Not the shove, but the way she lept at HeYi. He didn't need her to fight for him. A bit of anger twitched in his chest.

"I'm so sorry, ShinWoo hyung," MiNam kept saying to him over and over again.

"H-hyung…" Jeremy came up slowly to his side. "Are you okay?"

No. He wasn't okay. His heart…it felt like it had just been ripped out and thrown on the ground. He had to force the words from his throat. Those shoes…the flowers…

"I should've just thrown it all away," he mutters. "MiNam, help me and throw it away please."

Then, he turned and went up to the roof to get away from it all.

* * *

"What are you doing?!" HeYi snapped as TaeKyung dragged her out of the house. He gave her a good shove towards her car.

"I was only trying to help him!" HeYi shouted at TaeKyung.

Taekyung gritted his teeth. He thought about the way ShinWoo had looked when he saw those shoes. He thought about President Ahn telling him that shoes were a perfect gift for any woman you liked. He thought about the look on Aimee's face and the anger when she'd attacked HeYi. He'd never seen her so angry before.

TaeKyung looked at HeYi. She'd not only pissed off his band mate. She'd sincerely hurt his best friend. And that wasn't acceptable. This was over with. Nobody hurt his loved ones like that. And he _knew_ how much she'd hurt them. To add onto it, she'd taken great satisfaction to it.

"You…" he spat coldly. "Don't ever show up here again. Get lost."

"Get lost?" HeYi's expression went dark. "Aren't you afraid of what I might do? What I might say?"

"And what is that?" TaeKyung asked sarcastically.

"I'll expose MiNam as a girl and A.!" HeYi snapped, her eyes cold as ice.

"Really? Such a terrible act from Miss Yoo He Yi? National fairy? You're going to cruelly expose us to the public? How will the fairy image look on you then?" TaeKyung snapped back at her, letting the venom seethe off his words. HeYi's face fell. "And anyway, weren't you a part of this all along?"

"I'll just pretend I didn't know," HeYi said, though she sounded unsure.

"I'll tell them you knew and you were a part of it. Think I won't?" TaeKyung threatened her back.

HeYi's mouth opened a moment, then closed. Then opened again.

"TaeKyung, I was really only trying to help this time," she said, her voice a desperate whisper. TaeKyung almost believed she was sincere. But he knew better. Her tricks, her lies. Even if she had been helping, it hadn't done any good to any of them.

"We don't need help from someone like you," TaeKyung spat. "Now, get lost."

He turned and went back into the house, leaving her on the back porch crying. He didn't even care anymore. Let her cry all she wanted. He didn't care.

* * *

TaeKyung comes into my room, not even knocking. I bite my lip and turn away from him into my pillow. I'm going to put a lock on that door, I think grimly. TaeKyung doesn't say anything to me as he walks over and puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

"No. No I'm not," I snap. "I hate her. She's manipulative…she hurts people…and I need to kick her ass."

"I think you already did," TaeKyung replies, sighing. "Aimee, don't get so angry. She's just being herself and I know it's wrong but-"

"But you're going to just accept it? I know you don't like her and I figure you're just dating her to keep her mouth shut about MiNam….but why take the shit she does?!" I slam my fist on the bed and sit up.

"I told her to get away from us, Aimee," TaeKyung says, softly. "I won't let her hurt any of you guys ever again. It was a dumb thing to submit to her. I should've just stood up to her a long time ago."

I suddenly burst into tears. I hated myself for it, but crying seemed normal now. With everything that was happening., it seemed normal and acceptable now. I cried. TaeKyung stared awkwardly at me a moment, having not seen me cry in a long time. Then, he put an arm around my shoulders. He held me as I cried.

"You saw the look on his face…" I cry. "It hurt to see him like that…I can't believe he just stood there and…and _took it._ How can he be so stupid and…_weak?!_"

"ShinWoo is stronger than you, Aimee," TaeKyung says softly, rubbing my arm. "He stood there and took it. He held back his anger. That's not being weak. You were the weak one for letting it get to you."

"Either way…" I mutter, sniffling. "I can't bear to watch this anymore. ShinWoo, Nobu, you, MiNam…it's too much."

"You assume too much responsibility," TaeKyung muttered. "ShinWoo's pain isn't your fault. It's not your job to take care of MiNam. And Nobu's accident wasn't your fault. Haven't I told you before, you drama queen? The world doesn't revolve around you."

I smiled a little at his attempt of a joke, "Asshole."

"Yah! Language."

We both laugh a little.

**

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**

Author's Note:

Okay, so my internet is going to die in like…TWO MIN. xD I need to post this up. I'm SOWWIE. I know it's short. I'm off school tmrww though so I'll definitely update ;D

BTW. New banner from BeckZee! She's just LOVELY =DDD

http[colon]//i43[dot]tinypic[dot]com/2dhd6ko[dot]jpg


	32. Chapter 32

I make my way back into the kitchen, TaeKyung by my side. I'm feeling a bit more relieved now. I get a drink of water from the kitchen and head back to my room. I pull out my music folder and stare a the song I'd begun to write. I sigh. I make a move to toss it in the trash when my door is suddenly opened again.

"Do you guys ever kno-…ShinWoo oppa," I turn around. ShinWoo looks on at me. I suddenly loose the nerve to open my mouth again by the way ShinWoo is looking at me. His eyes are cold and his face expressionless.

"What do you think you're doing?" ShinWoo asks, his tone flat. "Who are you to do this kind of thing? Did anyone ask you for that kind of favor? It's not even a favor. It's groveling!"

I realize what he's going on about. I feel my chest tighten.

"Don't you have any pride? Any shame? Why do you always get involved with other's business?" ShinWoo starts to raise his voice, but suddenly lowers it again as he realizes the others might hear.

"It's not because I don't have any pride," I say quickly before he gets a chance to say more. "It's because you were hurting so much. You were about to die from the pain and sadness…because-"

"What is it to you?!" ShinWoo forgets about the others and shouts.

"Why are you so angry I wanted to help you?!" I shout back, my heart aching.

_Why…why…?_

ShinWoo seems to hesitate a moment. He doesn't seem to know the answer. He shuts his eyes, rubs his temples. I make a move towards him, but he snaps his head back up at me and grits his teeth. For a moment, I think he looks meaner than TaeKyung.

"Get lost, Jung Aimee."

I stare at him in disbelief. Then, I realized it for sure. I knew it in my heart. The ShinWoo oppa I knew wasn't here anymore. Maybe he'd never existed; maybe he'd just been in my mind…the Kang ShinWoo I'd loved… I didn't think I could ever find him again.

"Fine," I spit at him, too angry and hurt to say anything else. "I'll leave! I'll go and I'll never come back! You can have everything back! Take everything! Take back your kindness…your help!"

I grab my music sheets and crumple them, chucking them at him. I throw my blankets off the bed. I knock over the picture on my nightstand, the one where I'd been staring at ShinWoo; smiling. Its frame cracked and the glass shattered as it hit the wooden floor. I ignored the mess. I grab my clothes out of my dresser and shove them in a bag. ShinWoo simply stands there, staring at me with hard eyes. Jeremy, TaeKyung, and MiNam suddenly appear at me door.

"Aimee! What do you think you're doing?!" TaeKyung shouts. He looks at ShinWoo.

"N-noona!" Jeremy makes a move towards me. I shove him off.

After getting most of my clothes in my bag, I turn to look at ShinWoo. I ignore the others. I reach up to my neck, wringing my fingers around the chain of the star necklace ShinWoo had given me. It's star pendant was tucked under my shirt. I hesitated only a moment. Then, with one hard yank, I tore the chain off. I chucked it at ShinWoo. It hit him in the chest and fell to the ground. ShinWoo stares at it a moment.

"You can take that back too," I said simply before grabbing my bag and shoving past everyone.

My walk quickens to a fast-paced run as I go out to my car. I throw my bag in and quickly get inside my car, knowing Jeremy and TaeKyung would try to stop me. I lock my door just as TaeKyung grabs the handle. I stick my key in the ignition and start the car up. TaeKyung pounds on my window.

"Aimee! Open up now! Aimee!" he shouts. "Don't leave just because of him!"

I hesitate a moment. I turn and look at my best friend. I give him a small smile before I pull out of the driveway, leaving him to stumble after me just a moment. In the rearview mirror, I see Jeremy run up to the street. I look away, and sigh.

I'm sorry, Jeremy. I'm sorry, TaeKyung. I can't do this anymore.

* * *

Nobu's brushing his teeth in the bathroom of his dad's house. After Aimee had run off, his dad had convinced him to stay a couple nights. Nobu groaned. He loved his dad, but sometimes, he was just too much. And really embarrassing.

The doorbell suddenly rings downstairs. Nobu ignores it as he hears his dad shout.

"I got it!"

Nobu continues to get himself ready for bed. As he wheels out of the bathroom and towards his bedroom, he hears his dad talking with someone. He decided to ignore them when he recognized the other voice.

"You're sure you haven't seen her?" he hears TaeKyung's voice.

"I'm sure," Nobu's dad replies. "Who are you guys anyways?"

"I'm Aimee's best friend. Your son knows me," TaeKyung replies.

"Yeah!" Nobu hears Jeremy.

"Nobu!" Nobu's dad calls him, but Nobu was already coming in.

"Hey guys," Nobu says, looking at them all. ShinWoo and MiNam were there as well, but they were completely quiet. Nobu narrowed his eyes. "Dad, can you leave us?"

"I want to know what's happened. Is Mee-Mee alright? What's going on?" Nobu's dad asked frantically. Nobu shot his dad a look. He sighed and walked out.

"Is there something wrong?" Nobu asked, his eyes never leaving ShinWoo.

"We had a little situation at the house," TaeKyung sighed. "Aimee took off."

"What?" Nobu's head snapped to look at TaeKyung. "Taken off where?"

"We were hoping you knew," Jeremy said, looking utterly sad. "We went by your house but you weren't home. A guy at your house gave us the address here."

"What happened that made her take off?" Nobu asked.

They all hesitated to answer. Nobu gritted his teeth. TaeKyung finally stepped up and told him the story, starting with Yoo HeYi. Every word pissed Nobu off more. Especially when he heard about the fight between ShinWoo and Aimee. Turns out, ShinWoo had quickly told them all about it after Aimee ran out. But as sorry as ShinWoo looked, Nobu was only more angry.

"He told her to get lost and she took off with all her stuff," TaeKyung sighed. "We tried to go after her but-"

He's cut off as Nobu suddenly pushes off his wheelchair with his arms and tackles ShinWoo. The two struggle on the ground a while before Jeremy and TaeKyung yank them apart. Nobu's dad comes running back into the room. ShinWoo pushes Jeremy off him. TaeKyung grabs hold of Nobu's arms.

"If I had my legs, you'd be _dead_ right now!" Nobu screams at ShinWoo, who clamps his fists but doesn't say or do anything. Instead, ShinWoo simply bows his head down and turns his back to everyone.

"Nobu! Nobu!" Nobu's dad rushes to Nobu's side, helping him up back into his wheelchair. Nobu buries his face in his hands, thinking about Aimee. He could only imagine what was going on in Aimee's heart and mind right now. He hated ShinWoo. Nobu looked up, glaring at ShinWoo's back.

"It's because of all of you," Nobu spits. "All of you. You only care about yourselves. You don't even care about Aimee. When her dad died, you all ignored it. I don't know what exactly has been going on between you all, but Aimee deserves better than all of you!"

Everyone in the room is silent. Nobu wanted his words to hurt. He wanted them to sting as much as their actions toward Aimee. Tears stung Nobu's eyes for some reason. Aimee…all he could think about was Aimee…

"I'll tell you what's been going on between us all," MiNam says suddenly.

"No, MiNam," ShinWoo says suddenly. He grabs his arm. But MiNam pushes him off.

"I trust him," MiNam says. Nobu stares at him.

"I'm a girl. Aimee has been trying to protect me."

* * *

I drive out towards the countryside. I park in a parking lot near a picnic area. I lay my forehead against the steering wheel. The aching in my chest won't go away. I start to cry again. I cry shoulder-heaving, stomach wrenching sobs. It hurt so much. So much for hurting less after letting go.

But if I think about it, did I really let go? I rake back my hair with my fingers and wipe away my tears. I try to stop sobbing, but I can't. I hate crying like this. You feel like you can't breathe. I take a few minutes to try and calm my sobbing. Then, I pull out of the parking lot and head towards my old house. I wasn't going to stay there, no. I needed to get far away from here. But my house had a computer. I needed to get an airplane ticket. And fast.

* * *

Everyone walked through the door, silent. No one had the heart to say anything. ShinWoo especially. He was angry still. Not at Nobu. Not at Aimee. At himself. Once again, he'd lost himself to his anger. Since when had he started doing that? He didn't know. And why was it always towards Aimee? Everyone made their way to their rooms. No one spoke to each other.

ShinWoo couldn't help but stop as he passed by Aimee's room. The door was still opened. ShinWoo turned and looked in her room. He looked at the mess that had been left behind. No one stood in her room, but ShinWoo could still feel Aimee in there. This had always been Aimee's toom. He walked over to the bedside and sat down. He closed his eyes, remembering when he'd sat here that one night with Aimee at his side. She'd been upset about her injuries, but he'd comforted her. He'd always done that for her. Guilt stung ShinWoo as he realized how many times Aimee had tried to comfort him. Suddenly, another memory hit him hard.

_"Do you want to share my umbrella, or are you going to sit in the rain a while longer so that people passing won't know if you're crying or it's just the rain running down your cheeks?"_

That had been the day Aimee had come to comfort him as he cried to the sky. He'd been hurting so much. Aimee had come for him and she'd kissed him. He buried his face in his hands. He didn't understand. He didn't know anything anymore.

Why?! Why did she have to do that?! Why did she get so angry at Yoo HeYi? Why had she kissed him? What was it to her whether he was sad?! Why, why, _why?!_

He opened his eye and saw the broken photo frame on the ground by his foot. He picked it up, brushing the broken glass off. He stared at the picture. Aimee's smiling face. When had he last seen her so happy? He tried to remember. In Yeosu. That's the last time he'd seen her happy and smiling like in the picture. His chest tightened. He felt at fault for everything. He thought of Nobu's words.

_"It's because of you!...Aimee deserves better than you!"_

Yes, she did.

* * *

As she was going to her room, MiNam noticed ShinWoo stop by Aimee's room. MiNam watched quietly as ShinWoo sat on Aimee's bed silently. He picked up a broken picture frame from the ground and stared at it. Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled something out. MiNam recognized the star pendant that Aimee had chucked at ShinWoo earlier. After she left, he'd picked it up gently and stared at it in his hand.

MiNam watched as ShinWoo buried his face in his hand, the chain of the silver pendant dangling between his fingers. MiNam couldn't tell if ShinWoo was crying. She didn't hear him sobbing. But she knew he was sad. Utterly and completely sad. MiNam bit her lip, debating whether or not she should go in and comfort him. MiNam saddened as well, thinking about Aimee. Poor Aimee…ShinWoo was so oblivious to her love. But MiNam could tell ShinWoo loved Aimee. So what was the problem here? MiNam didn't know.

She was just about to walk away when ShinWoo suddenly looked up and saw her.

"Oh, MiNam," he said and MiNam saw tears in his eyes.

"ShinWoo hyung, are you okay?" MiNam asked him softly.

"Please come sit by me," ShinWoo asked instead of answering her.

It felt strange, but MiNam walked over and sat beside him.

"I'm going to go visit my parents and clear up this girlfriend scandal," ShinWoo says suddenly. "I'm going to need you to go with me as Go MiNyu, okay?"

MiNam is shocked by how he could suddenly go from crying about Aimee to thinking about the scandal. MiNam frowned a bit, thinking ShinWoo was being heartless. But what could she say? She decided to simply answer ShinWoo.

"Okay, ShinWoo hyung."

He gave her a small smile and ruffled her hair, "Now go get some rest."

"You too, ShinWoo hyung," MiNam tells him, smiling softly back at him.

**

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**

Author's Note:God. I'm tired. T_T I didn't write very long, but I'm exhausted. Off to bed =) Or movies, lol. Either way, enjoy this for now ^.^ Keep reviewing! I love it =D


	33. Chapter 33

MiNam stood beside TaeKyung, who was sitting at the keyboard and adding notes to his music sheet. He'd been awfully quiet and even grumpier since Aimee left. MiNam felt bad for him. He'd just lost his best friend. It'd been a couple days now. No word from Aimee. She wasn't at Nobu's or at her house. And ShinWoo had even called her grandma and brother but they weren't receiving his calls.

"Is this the song you are writing for Mo HwaRan?" MiNam asked, glancing at TaeKyung's music sheets. He sighed deeply.

"Yeah," he muttered. "It pisses me off. Go MiNam, you should stick by my side as a fan and keep me company."

MiNam bit her lip.

"But I have to go to Busan…" she said softly.

"What?" TaeKyung turned to look at her. "Busan?"

"Yes," MiNam nodded. "ShinWoo hyung wants to explain things to his parents before the article about him and MiNyu are published. I have to follow him there and explain it. Jeremy, Manager Ma, and Coordinator Wang are all going too."

MiNam smiled, "We'll be feasting and playing. Hyung-nim should come as well!"

TaeKyung shot her a bitter look, "How can you all be trying to have fun when Aimee is missing?"

MiNam's chest tightened. TaeKyung looked away from her.

"Anyway, I still have work to do. You'll be back today, won't you?"

MiNam slowly shook her head, "No. We'll be back tomorrow. ShinWoo wants to show me around his hometown and treat me to slime eels."

TaeKyung rolled his eyes, "MiNam, we have slime eels in Seoul too. If you come back early, I'll treat you somewhere really delicious."

MiNam's heart fluttered. She giggled.

"But still, they say that Busan's slime eels are the best!" she flashed TaeKyung a thumbs-up. He scoffed.

"Have you even had slime eels in Seoul before?" TaeKyung asked.

"Uhm…no," MiNam scratched her head.

* * *

MiNam sat beside ShinWoo. He seemed a bit lost in his thoughts. He stared off into space a long moment. MiNam wondered if he was thinking about Aimee. Suddenly, he turned to look at her with a smile.

"They'll be checking our ID's so we should go in separately," ShinWoo said.

MiNam nodded, "I know. I'll take care of myself. You go first, and then I'll follow after I've changed."

ShinWoo paused a moment.

"MiNam," he said slowly. "When we reach Busan…what if we say we're for real?"

It took a moment for his words to sink in to MiNam's mind. She opened her mouth, stuttering.

"E-eh?"

"You're a girl. If we date for real, the article that's getting published…will be real, right?" ShinWoo asked her. His eyes glittered with hope. MiNam was still confused.

"ShinWoo hyung," she said. "Don't we both have people we like?"

"How about…" ShinWoo sighed. "We both give up on the people who will never see us and start afresh with each other?"

MiNam stared at him.

"By starting afresh…you mean…?" MiNam trailed off. ShinWoo looked away, and MiNam was afraid she might've hurt his feelings.

"Can you like me?" he asked suddenly. "I will like you."

MiNam looked away from him, her cheeks red. Could she like him? Was liking TaeKyung so hopeless? She pondered the thought a moment. She didn't know what to say. Could she like ShinWoo? She decided, yes, she could. She could like him. She did like him. But…she couldn't let TaeKyung go. Just as she was about to answer ShinWoo, he suddenly stood up.

Looking at her, he handed her her plane ticket.

"I'm not asking you to give all your heart to me at one go," ShinWoo sighed. "If you even have the thought of giving your heart bit by bit, that's a start. And…I have started."

MiNam opened her mouth to speak again, but ShinWoo cut her off.

"I'll go first," he said. "If you too have the thought of starting over, come after me. I will wait."

With those last words, ShinWoo turned and made his way into the airport. MiNam watched as he walked away. She glanced at her ticket. She sighed.

_What do I do now?_

* * *

ShinWoo sat alone. He couldn't help but notice the empty seat beside him. He knew she wouldn't come. But at least he had started to convey his feelings. His heart ached. He put a hand over his heart. He wanted to just rip it out and throw it away. Throw away these pathetic feelings he had. Hopeless feelings.

"Would you like anything sir?" a flight attendant asked him.

"No, thank you," he said. She left to tend to others.

"Would you like anything, ma'am?" she asked a couple rows up from ShinWoo's seat. He was about to tune out and go back to his own misery when he heard a familiar voice.

"No, thank you," a familiar, feminine voice said. ShinWoo shot to his feet.

"Sir, you must stay seated. We'll be taking off soon," a flight attendant said to him. He pondered a moment.

"Just a minute," he said to the flight attendant. He pushed past her and up a couple rows. And surely, sitting there in a pair of big sunglasses with her chin length hair…

"Oh! Aimee!" ShinWoo exclaimed.

She looked up, saw him, and her eyes widened in horror. She even let out a small scream. The people around turned to look at them both. ShinWoo panicked a bit. He put a finger to his lips to beg her not to make a commotion. She got his message, but frowned. She turned away from him, ignoring his presence.

"Aimee, come here, we need to talk," ShinWoo took her hand in his. She yanked it away, not even looking at him.

"Aimee, please," ShinWoo begged.

"Get lost, Kang ShinWoo," she said simply.

Her words stung. It took him only a moment to remember that he had said the same words to her just days ago. He felt his heart crumble to ashes. Gently, he took her hand again.

"I need to talk to you, Aimee," he said softly. Aimee turned to look at him this time. But then, she quickly looked away again. Desperate, ShinWoo yanked her up by the arm and dragged her towards the bathroom. Aimee kicked and yelled, but he ignored it. Opening the door, he dragged her inside. Before she could curse him out, ShinWoo wrapped his arms around her. She tensed.

"Y-yah!" Aimee stuttered.

"I…I'm sorry," ShinWoo stuttered out. He pulled her closer to him. She stumbled away, her glasses falling off her face and clattering to the floor. Neither one made a move to pick them up. ShinWoo expected Aimee to hug him back, but she didn't.

"Where have you been?" ShinWoo pulled away to look at her. "Are you okay? Where are you going?"

"I'm going to Yeosu," she said after a moment.

"I see," ShinWoo mumbled. "Where have you been staying these nights?"

"In my car," Aimee rolled her eyes.

"You've been living homeless in your car?" ShinWoo made a horrified face. He felt terrible.

"Whatever," Aimee moved to pick up her glasses, but the bathroom was too small for her to bend over. She sighed. ShinWoo realized just how close they were standing in this compact bathroom. It was a bit awkward. He stared at Aimee. She stared back at him a moment, then looked away. She reached for the door. He caught her hand.

"Are you coming back, Aimee?" he asked softly. Aimee didn't answer him. Slowly, she turned her head to look up at him. Her eyes were filled with tears, but she didn't cry. ShinWoo's heart dropped. Why was she looking up at him like that? Was she not going to come back? Had he hurt her so badly?

"I don't want to go back to that, ShinWoo," she finally said. She made way for the door again. ShinWoo put his arms on either side of her head to stop her.

"You have to come back. TaeKyung…he's gotten worse without you. And MiNam misses you too. Jeremy, he's always sighing and talking about how he misses your cooking. He hardly eats," ShinWoo explained the situation at home. Aimee ducked her head and buried her face in her hands. She sniffled a little, then looked back up at him.

"And what about you, then?" she asked.

"I…" ShinWoo trailed off. In a strange way, he had missed her. He sat in her room a lot or sometimes he just stared at the star pendant she'd thrown at him that night. He had missed her. Terribly. There wasn't anything specific he missed about her. Recently, they'd always been fighting. But he had missed her.

"I don't think I'm going to be coming back," Aimee looked away from him. "At least not for a while. I need to sort myself out."

"Sort what out? Can't you do your sorting right here?" ShinWoo asked, frustrated now.

"No," Aimee muttered. "I can't."

"I'll help you," ShinWoo made her look at him. He felt so terribly sorry. He needed her back. All of them needed her back. "I shouldn't have lost my temper. You were only trying to stand up for me. I'll help you sort yourself out. I promise. I was always here for you, wasn't I?"

"You can't even see what's in front of your eyes, ShinWoo," Aimee muttered, her tone just slightly cold.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Instead of answering, Aimee sighed. Just as he was about to ask again, she reached up and took his face into her hands. She pulled him in and pressed his lips to hers. He tensed. He was so surprised that he reached up to remove her hand, but then, he let it fall. Slowly, he kissed her back. But just as he was losing himself in the moment, she pulled away from him.

"Goodbye, ShinWoo," she said. ShinWoo was still too dazed to stop her this time. She walked away and ShinWoo was left standing in the bathroom alone.

"Hey man, are you done?" a passenger poked his head in. ShinWoo quickly came to his senses and left. As he passed Aimee's old seat, he saw it was empty. He looked around.

_Where did she go now?_

* * *

I dragged my luggage towards the small shack-like house. As I got up to the door, I knocked loudly. I heard some shuffling and yelling.

"I got it! I got it!"

I smile a bit at the sound of my halmoni's sweet voice. The door opens and I see her. Tears nearly come to me. I had missed her terribly. Her eyes widen as she sees me.

"A-Aimee!" she exclaims. Then, she wraps me in a bear hug. I hug her back.

"Who is –"

I tackle my brother in a hug. Chin stumbles back before he chuckles and hugs me back.

"What are you doing here, dongsaeng?" he asked. I smiled a little.

"Let's go inside," I said. They both nodded. As I stepped in, I twirled around in a circle and fell back onto the couch.

"Seriously, Aimee," my halmoni said. "Did something happen?"

"No," I say, slowly. "I just…got tired of the city. I missed you guys. So I came back."

"What about TaeKyung and Nobu…and ShinWoo?" Chin asked, crossing his arms.

"They were fine with me leaving," I lied. "Said if I missed you guys I should come back."

"Really?" Halmoni asked, pursing her lips.

"Uh huh," I say, hoping that they don't know I'm lying. I look at them.

"I _can _stay here right?" I ask sarcastically.

"Of course, of course," my halmoni rushes over immediately. "I'll go set you a place to sleep in my room. We can share."

"Okay, I'll go make something to eat," I smile.

"Good, cause I'm starving," Chin grins.

It's good to be home again.

I sigh. If only it was on better terms.

* * *

ShinWoo walks up the driveway to the dorms. He sees MiNam, clad in a bright green raincoat. She turns, and sees him.

"ShinWoo hyung!"

"It didn't rain in Busan," ShinWoo tilted his head. "Did it rain in Seoul?"

"I was helping Jeremy give Jolie a bath," she said softly.

Was she still feeling bad about Busan? He didn't blame her. He couldn't stop thinking about his encounter with Aimee either. Strangely, he could still taste her on his lips. It was weird for him. Her star pendant hung around his neck, dangling off a new chain, though the old broken one was still in his suitcase. He kept his eye fixed on MiNam. He was almost bitter, looking at her.

"Looks like you're almost done. Come give me a hand," he said, and headed into the house. MiNam hesitated. ShinWoo tensed just a little. He took a moment to not get angry with her. He turns to look at her.

"MiNam," he says sharply. "Are you now also rejecting my request for help? After you already rejected my heart?"

MiNam looked nervous. She looked away from him. Then, looked back. She opened her mouth to say something, but ShinWoo cut her off. He already knew what she was going to say. She always said it. But he didn't want to hear it.

"You're sorry, I know. So don't reject my request and come help me," ShinWoo says to her. She sighs, and follows him inside. He placed his bags on the kitchen counter top. He unzipped his bag as MiNam sat down two seats down from him at the counter. ShinWoo tried not to let it bother him. He pulled out a red, elegantly wrapped gift box with curled ribbons to top it off.

"What should I help with?" MiNam asked meekly.

"First, take a look at this," ShinWoo took the box top off and slid the box over to her to see the small bottle of perfume inside in an elegant glass. MiNam stared at the bottle a moment, then at ShinWoo. His heart wrenched as he thought about it.

"My mother gave me this to give to you," he says slowly. "I couldn't explain everything in full detail, so I just brought this back with me. She said she had always wanted to give this to my girlfriend…"

MiNam looked away nervously from him. She bit her lip. ShinWoo smirked a little.

"I wanted you to see my mother's heart," he said. "I don't expect you to accept it."

He quickly closed the box and put it back in his bag. He didn't want to look at it too long. It reminded him of how he had to lie to his parents. And it reminded him of _why_ he had to lie. Because of MiNam. Because she couldn't accept his heart.

"I'm sorry to ShinWoo hyung's mother as well," MiNam said quietly.

ShinWoo wanted to shout at her to stop apologizing. He didn't care. He didn't want to hear it anymore. It wasn't because he didn't love her, it was because he was hurt.

"From the start you were burdensome," ShinWoo said, purposely using cold words. "But what can you do about it? Now, I'm going to be a big burden to you as well. From the start I was a good hyung to you without you even noticing. But from now on, I'm going to be a burdensome man you're going to have to notice."

MiNam glanced at him, a strange look in her eyes. ShinWoo couldn't believe he was saying such harsh words, but they had to be said. He wanted to release some of his pain onto her.

"Oh, your eyes just got nervous, looking at me," ShinWoo exclaimed sarcastically. "Good. That'll bring us _closer_. You and I didn't have enough tension as dongsaeng and hyung. That's why we didn't make any progress."

ShinWoo inched closer to her and noticed how she tensed. He was scaring her.

"Go MiNam, keep looking at me with those cautious eyes. Let's see how we'll do; what we'll become," he said. "Keep looking at me nervously, Go MiNam."

"ShinWoo hyung," MiNam's eyes seemed teary. "Please don't do anything foolish because of me."

"Oh, now you're worrying about me," ShinWoo chuckled lightly. "Yes, just like that. Keep turning to notice me once or twice, okay?"

"I…I can't bear to look at you like this anymore, ShinWoo hyung," MiNam turned away and quickly ran out of the room. ShinWoo felt his heart wrench, but quickly told himself it was okay.

"I always took a step forward to comfort you," ShinWoo whispered to himself. "But now, I'm going to take a step back and comfort myself."

* * *

I snuggled in beside my halmoni. She had he back against me. It was chilly at night in Yeosu. I close my eyes, trying to go to sleep. Suddenly, my halmoni speaks to me.

"Something happened, right?" she asked quietly. I hesitate to answer.

"Good night, Halmoni," I sigh. She turns to me.

"Did you and ShinWoo get into a fight? What happened?" she asked in a frantic whisper.

"I told you. I just missed you guys," I place an arm around her, hugging her. She wiggles out of my hug. She's silent. I think she's fallen asleep again. I sigh and close my eyes. Just then, I hear her speak again.

"When loved ones have fights, we work it out. We don't run away, Jung Aimee," she muttered.

Her words stung. I bit my lip and turned away from her. I touched my lips and thought of the kiss aboard the plane. He had kissed back. And even still, did he not know? I could still taste him on my lips.

I always tried my best to comfort him. But now, it was time to comfort myself.

**

* * *

**

Author's Note:

Did anyone else feel like in this episode, Shinwoo was kinda being an ass to MiNam? Lol. Like, I don't like her sometimes, but it seems ShinWoo got really scary xD

Anyways, I _know! _T_T I haven't updated in a while. Ugh. My internet protection went back up cause my dad reset the computer and I haven't been able to get to my videos. I can't believe the drama is ending soon. Ugh. I need to wrap up wrap up wrap up my story! .


	34. Chapter 34

"Everybody! Everybody, attention!" Manager Ma walked into the studio where the boys were practicing. TaeKyung rolled his eyes at Manager Ma, not being able to help but feel irritated just by the sight of him. He was so easily irritated nowadays.

"The day for the return of the real MiNam has been set!" Manager Ma exclaimed, grinning widely. "He'll be back a day before the showcase."

Manager Ma jumped up and down. TaeKyung gritted his teeth and turned back to his music writing. Manger Ma was so happy. TaeKyung couldn't concentrate on his music. So he reached into his folder and pulled out another sheet. It had been crumpled, but TaeKyung had smoothed it out best he could. He looked over the lyrics and music written in sparkly purple ink.

"How is the real MiNam?" Jeremy asked suddenly. TaeKyung opened and ear to listen, but acted as if he didn't care.

"The real MiNam?" Manager Ma sighed. "He and MiNyu have the same face, but they're really different. TaeKyung's charisma; ShinWoo's gentleness; and even Jeremy's brightness…MiNam has all of this."

"You guys, when he comes back you should all get a little nervous," Manager Ma smiled at them, but none of them smiled back at him.

_Stupid_.

TaeKyung went back to his music. Stupid. Stupid. How can everyone be so happy? Aimee was gone. Of course, TaeKyung was trying to find her.

"I'll be going to Yeosu a while," TaeKyung said suddenly.

"Why, hyung?" Jeremy turned to him. ShinWoo looked at him, but said nothing.

"Me and Nobu are going to go looking for Aimee at her dad's house," TaeKyung replied. Yes, he and Nobu. They'd been working together, lately.

"Oh, that's right. Aimee," Manager Ma sighed. "I hope you find her, TaeKyung. I should be going now. I wish you luck."

He left the studio. Jeremy got up from his drum set and walked over to TaeKyung.

" Hyung, are you really going to look for her?" Jeremy asked.

"Of course," TaeKyung looked up from his paper. "I'm her best friend."

"Can I go with you?" Jeremy asked.

"We already bought the tickets," TaeKyung said. "We leave tonight. I've already let President Ahn know. Take care of the house while I'm gone. I should be back tomorrow afternoon."

* * *

TaeKyung knocked on the large wooden door of the small shack-like house. It opened and TaeKyung caught a quick glimpse of Chin, but the door was shut in his face again. Jeremy looked at him.

"I guess I'm still not approved of around this house," TaeKyung gritted his teeth. He knocked on the door again. No answer. Knocked again, louder. No answer. TaeKyung had to pound his fists on the door like a child for minutes before the door finally opened again.

"She doesn't want to see you!" Chin snapped, trying to close the door. TaeKyung stuck his foot in the doorway and held back the door. Chin and TaeKyung exchanged minutes of intense glares.

"Please let us see her," TaeKyung asked, his tone serious and cold.

Chin smirked, and finally, let go of the door.

"She's not here," he said.

"Don't lie!" Nobu shouted suddenly. Chin grinned at him.

"Hey, you. Nice to see you again," he commented. Nobu gritted his teeth.

"Cut the crap, Chin," TaeKyung put a hand on Chin's shoulder. He wasn't in the mood for Chin's sarcasm. "Is Aimee home or not?"

"She's not," Chin said smugly, removing TaeKyung's hand from his shoulder.

"Chin, who is it?"

Everybody turns to look behind Chin. A short, plump old woman walked out. TaeKyung recognized her as Aimee's halmoni. She stopped, recognizing TaeKyung as well. Her face went blank a moment, then she looked at the others.

"Come inside, you guys," she said plainly. Chin hesitated to let them in, but then, moved. They all sat in the living room. No one spoke at first.

"How is she?" TaeKyung finally asks.

"She's weak," her Halmoni's voice cracked. "She doesn't eat much. She just drinks. Sometimes she cries. She has nightmares…I think she's going to break any moment."

"I think she's already broken," Nobu muttered. Aimee's halmoni sighed.

"Can we see her?" TaeKyung asked.

"You really think that's going to make her feel better?" Chin snapped. "It's your guys' fault in the first place she's like this. She won't tell us what happened, denies it's because of you all, but we know her better than that. My little sister is on the verge of insanity. I think seeing you guys might just drive her to the edge."

"At least let _me _talk to her," Nobu said, sighing. "I…I need to talk to her. Please."

"What could you possibly have to say to her?" Chin scoffed.

"I know a way to get the old Aimee back," Nobu said simply. "I know how to cure her."

* * *

"She's over there," Chin said coldly. "Don't say anything to upset her. She's drunk and cranky. She probably won't even realize what's going on."

"Got it," Nobu said through gritted teeth. He glanced at Aimee at the far end of the restaurant, sitting at the bar. She was chugging down a bottle of beer. Four empty bottles lay scattered beside her on the bar. Nobu's chest tightened.

"Hey, you," he wheeled himself over, tapping her on the shoulder. Slowly, Aimee turned and looked at him, squinting her eyes. Then, she broke into a grin. She didn't seem at all surprised to see him there.

"Have a drink?" she asked, her words slightly slurred. Nobu hated seeing her like this. She looked so miserable and helpless. It made him uncontrollably angry. He wanted to punch something. Aimee heaved. She stood up and ran to the back of the restaurant. Nobu wheeled after her as fast as he could and found her puking in the bathroom.

Nobu watched as Aimee puked over and over. He couldn't do anything. Once again, he cursed himself and his damn wheelchair. After she finished, she went to the sink and washed off her face. She hung her head over the sink a while. Then, she looked up and her eyes seemed to widen at the sight of Nobu.

"Y-you…" she stuttered.

"Who else did you expect?" Nobu forced a smile. Aimee didn't answer. She walked over to him. For some reason, Nobu expected to get yelled at, but instead, Aimee hugged him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders and pulled his head into the crook of her shoulder. He put an arm on her back and hugged her back.

"You've been gone for almost a week now. Why didn't you pick up your phone?" Nobu asked softly. Aimee pulled away. She sighed.

"I'm okay, Nobu," she said. A flicker of anger went off in Nobu. He snapped.

"Oh and _this_ qualifies as _okay_, right?" he snapped. "Drinking yourself silly and then puking your heart out? What do you think you're doing with your life, Jung Aimee?"

Aimee was silent. She stared at the floor. Nobu tried to remember what Chin had told him about not upsetting her. But he couldn't help his anger. He hated her for doing this to herself. Nobu didn't know this person. Not this person. She wasn't Aimee.

"Can we talk outside?" he asked, sighing.

"Yeah," Aimee said quietly.

They walked outside to the beach. Aimee was still a bit sluggy, but much more sober. They stopped after a while, since it was hard for Nobu to wheel in the sand. They sat, close to the water's edge. Aimee played with sand in her hand. Nobu sighed.

"I fell in love only once in my whole life," Nobu scoffed. "She was a brave, outgoing, sharp-tongued girl. She didn't care what others had to say to her, but she loved everyone and accepted everyone. She acted cold and careless, but I saw the love she had for others and the pain she carried in her heart. "

"She kept her feeling inside, not wanting to disturb others. And despite her pain, she was confident in herself and carried herself with so much love that she glowed like an angel. I fell in love with her confidence in herself and the way she loved others. I wanted her to love me that way too…"

Nobu turned to look at her. She wasn't looking at him.

"But you see, she loved someone else. All her love, her whole world, she'd revolved around him. I didn't understand at first, why such a beautiful woman with so much to give, would even waste her time. I thought, if she really loved herself, she would see that he didn't care and she would find someone worthy of her love."

"But…I was wrong. I knew I didn't stand a chance because I knew this girl was the kind of girl who loved someone forever…I knew she could never fully give her heart to me. But I was okay with that. Sometimes it pissed me off. I thought that if _I_ loved myself, I wouldn't put up with this shit either, but then I realized I was just like her. Once I loved someone, I would love them forever."

"But then I saw how that everlasting love was turning the one I loved into someone I didn't know anymore. She lost herself in him. She gave so much of herself to everyone around her and hadn't kept any for herself. I saw her drunk and crying and I wanted to comfort her. But I never did because I knew there was nothing I could do for her."

Nobu looked at Aimee again. Tears slipped down her cheeks, but she smiled a little.

"I really wish she would give him up for me. I wish she would see that he can never love her the way I do," Nobu sighed, smiling a little. He really _was_ getting soft, but he didn't care anymore. He wasn't ashamed to love her.

"I could never give him up," Aimee said suddenly. "I tried and I tried, but I just can't. You wouldn't understand. You don't know what he and I went through…"

"So just because he was the one you let in after the accident?" Nobu interrupted. Aimee turned slowly to look at him.

"H-how…Who told you…?" Aimee stared at him.

"I do my homework," Nobu flashed a grin. Aimee smiled a little. Nobu smiled as well, and then reached out to touch her shoulder.

"I didn't come to tell stories," he said. "I came today to try one last time to bring back the woman I loved. I can cure you, Jung Aimee."

"Cure me of what?" Aimee laughed dryly. "Cure me of my broken heart?"

"No," Nobu looked out to the ocean. "I can help you to sing again."

* * *

"I can help you to sing again," Nobu said.

I was silent a moment. I let the words process into my mind.

_Cure…me?_

"W-what?" I asked him, my voice meek.

"I've been researching up about your injuries," Nobu shrugged. "I found a specialist who might be able to help you. In Germany, she's the best in her field. She works with many people who suffer from back injuries and back pains. She knows how to help them to breathe right so that it doesn't hurt."

"It doesn't hurt," I mutter. My heart ached for Nobu.

"But your singing was messed up because you couldn't breathe right?" Nobu asked. "She can fix your breathing."

"How are you going to get me in to see someone like that? Don't they…need like, medical history a-and doctor records and…" I rambled. I was so confused. So shocked. So dazed…

_He could cure me?_

"I already have everything set up," Nobu interrupted.

"H-how…?" I asked once again.

"TaeKyung and I worked it out," Nobu smiled a little. "Your brother almost didn't let me see you today. I had to first convince him this cure was going to work."

"Nobu…" my heart ached for him. Why couldn't I love him? No, I did love him. Why…? Stupid heart. Foolish heart. It occurred to me now, how blind I had always been. It occurred to me now, that Nobu really did love me.

"No need to thank me," Nobu grinned his cocky smile again. My heart broke. "Just promise me one thing?"

"Anything," I say. What else could I say?

"After you're cured, you must return to being the old Aimee I once knew," Nobu said.

"I want to see you smile like you used to. Say those mean, silly things like before. And you can even tell me, how much you never loved me. How much you hated me. You can tell me how much you never wanted to be with me and I'll go away forever, okay?" Nobu smiled and I almost wanted to slap him.

How could he say such things, and with such a smile on his face?

"Nobu…" my voice cracked. For some reason, his words didn't make me feel better anymore. I saw now, what pain he'd been going through because of me. I tried to hold back my sobbing, but they came out. Nobu laughed a little and hugged me.

"I hope you can find yourself again, Jung Aimee," he whispered in my ear.

* * *

I lay on Halmoni and my bed, looking up at the ceiling. In my right hand, I held my wallet. I kept thinking about Nobu's talk earlier today. I bit my lip.

_I fell in love only once in my whole life…_

My heart twisted into a knot. Guilt gnawed at me. It was eating me from the inside out. Nobu. Nobu. I had hurt him. I had hurt the one man who had really loved me and knew it. He'd never been ashamed to love me, no matter how angry I made him or how much I cried for another man.

_I wanted her to love me that way too…_

I sat up in the bed. I pulled the strip of photos out of my wallet. I looked over Nobu and my faces. That day, Nobu and I had decided not to think about ShinWoo or anyone else. That day, it had been just me and him. Tears came to my eyes once again as I stared at out happy faces. Why hadn't it always been like this?

Because I was selfish. I only thought about myself. I only thought about my problems and my own unrequited love. Nobu was right. If only I had loved myself more. If I had loved myself, I would've seen that I should've moved on to someone who didn't cause me pain. But I hadn't loved myself. I had only loved ShinWoo.

This pain; this guilt. It was worse than heartbreak. Instead of my heart breaking, it was as if my soul was being torn apart. Every essence of me was in pain now. I cried and cried, heaving and sobbing. I gripped the pictures in my hand. I wiped away my tears away with the back of my hand.

"Nobu…" I cried over and over again.

"Whatever he said to you, I don't think he said to you so you would cry."

I looked up at Chin in the doorway. I knew what he was saying was true. But still, I couldn't help but cry. Chin walked over, embracing me and letting me cry into his shoulder. He let me cry for maybe five minutes, before I managed to stop crying, but my sobbing was uncontrollable still. I tried to stop the pathetic whiny sobs coming from my throat, but it was hard.

Chin grinned, "That's what you get for crying so much, you damn crybaby."

"Shut up," I laughed through my sobs. He hugged me again, patting my back.

"Now if we're done crying," Chin grinned and pulled something out of his back pocket. "You have a plane to catch tomorrow at noon. Better start packing, dongsaeng."

Chin handed me my plane ticket and turned, walking away. I looked over the plant ticket. Berlin, Germany. I sighed.

_Would the cure really work?_

* * *

"I am Mrs. Wiegand," the skinny, lanky thin woman at the front of the room said. It took me a moment to process in her English. Her German accent was heavy and made it a bit hard to understand. The woman brushed back her tin gray hair with her skinny fingers.

"You speak English, right?" Mrs. Wiegand asked.

"Uh, yes," I replied.

"Good," the woman's lips spread into a scary smile, showing her unnaturally white teeth. I tried not to cringe.

"Now, come sit over here. And sit naturally," she said in her harsh accent. I sat on the stool in the center of the room. It was the only piece of furniture in the entire room besides a large mirror against the wall. Mrs. Wiegand examined my posture. She placed a hand on my lower back and then one under my chin, lifting my head and shoulders up.

"Now, sing," she said softly.

I closed my eyes, and opened my mouth, letting the notes come out.

* * *

Nobu listened in as Aimee sang over and over again. Her voice cracked many times, and she would go into a fit of coughing and choking. Aimee got frustrated and even wanted to storm out, but Mrs. Wiegand harshly told her to sit down. So she did.

"We can fix your singing by your posture," she said. "If you straighten your back and lift up your heard, you will be able to let in more air into your lungs and you will be able to control your voice. Now, try this."

Mrs. Wiegand adjusted Aimee's posture over and over again, having Aimee sing the whole time until she carried every note.

"Now, stand," she said gently. Aimee continued to sing and she rose from the chair to her feet. Nobu's heart skipped a beat. Would the cure work? Would this help? Nobu gripped the edges of the armrests of his wheelchair.

_Please…please work._

Mrs. Wiegand led Aimee around the room. Aimee looked a little stiff, trying to adjust to her new posture. Her voice still wavered here and there. She had to take breaks, or else she'd lose her voice. But eventually after many tiring hours, Aimee seemed less tense and her voice became smoother. A powerful voice, she had. Nobu smiled lightly as he listened to her carry every note perfectly.

Mrs. Wiegand smiled brightly as Aimee came to her closing note. Aimee had tears glittering in her eyes. She sniffled, and threw her arms around Mrs. Wiegand, who patted her back gently.

"Good job," she said.

"Thank you, thank you," Aimee said to her over and over again.

"It's nothing," Mrs. Wiegand nodded. "Just remember to keep your posture upright when you sing. It'll help a lot."

"Thank you," Aimee said again.

Nobu let out a huge breath. The cure. It had worked. Aimee turned to him, and ran to him, embracing him. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and took in her sweet essence. She cried happy tears onto his shoulder and Nobu's heart swelled with joy at the smile on her face.

"Thank you, Nobu," she cried.

"Now, you're going to keep your promise, aren't you?" Nobu asked quietly.

"Of course," she laughed lightly, wiping her tears away. "And…I have something to say to you, Nobu."

_Tell me how much you never loved me. Tell me how much you hated me._

Nobu remembered his own words to her on the beach. He could take it. He could take it. Whatever she had to say to him, he could endure it. Nobu plastered a smile onto his face as Aimee sighed and opened her mouth to speak.

"I love you, Nobu."

For some reason, Nobu's heart shattered instead of swelling with joy. He stared at Aimee, who was smiling brightly at him.

"I do love you, Nobu," she said again. "But…I can't let go of Kang ShinWoo. He's a part of me. He'll always be a part of me. And no matter how foolish I am or how much he makes me cry, he'll always be in my heart. Just like you will always be in my heart."

Nobu stared at her. He hadn't cried before. He'd been damn close to it, but never had he shed a tear for her. A real tear. But now, tears hung in his eyes. Aimee noticed and kneeled before him. She placed her hands on his cheeks.

"Nobu," she said softly.

"I…" Nobu forced a smile, though his tears were now running down his cheeks. "I knew you would never give him up for me. But I gave it my best. I held on until the end, Jung Aimee. Now, at least I can say I loved you."

"Nobu," Aimee's voice cracked as she stared at him. He took her hands off his face. He held them in his. He kissed her hands and smiled at her.

"It's time to go home, Aimee," he said softly.

**

* * *

**

Author's Note:

-sobs- NOBU! OMG. I hate myself for writing this now . Blehhh. –sobs- Argh so sad. I love you too, Nobu! =(

Btw, I really did hear about some specialist in Germany or whatever that cured a singer like this. Not sure who it is exactly, but yeahh. =) Hahaha.


	35. Chapter 35

"We'll be watching the stars tonight," TaeKyung said suddenly. MiNam tilted her head at him.

"Hyung-nim, you can't see the stars," she said.

"I bought a high-powered telescope," TaeKyung grinned broadly, looking at the sky. They were on the roof of the house. MiNam was relieved to see TaeKyung's grin. It was the most MiNam had seen him smile in a long time.

"With that, I can see anything," TaeKyung went on.

"A-ah…" MiNam stuttered.

"And then I can see this _beautiful_ bright star that you always boast about," TaeKyung grinned at MiNam. She tensed. She knew what star he meant. Maybe she shouldn't have bragged too much. After all, the star she'd been talking about wasn't one in the sky. It was him.

"Tonight, you will show me your star and we will watch them together," TaeKyung continued. "Go MiNam, tonight is a fan meeting to watch the stars."

"A-ah…okay," MiNam replied nervously. Looks like she'd be busy later, looking up stars to show to hyung-nim and dodging the fact of showing _her_ star to him.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"I'll go get that," MiNam said quickly, running down the stairs before TaeKyung could say anything. She looked out the window as she ran past. She caught glimpse of Nobu's car.

"Nobu's here!" she shouted loudly to anyone in the house who was listening. Jeremy was out the door before MiNam even was. He'd been eager to hear how Nobu's talk with Aimee had been. TaeKyung had told us about the trip to Yeosu to try and find Aimee, but TaeKyung hadn't gotten to talk to Aimee himself.

TaeKyung was coming down the stairs after them both. The three of them went out to meet Nobu in the driveway. But as they arrived, they didn't see Nobu stepping out from the car. Instead, they saw someone else. A woman.

"_Noona!_" Jeremy screeched as he tackled Aimee into a hug. He pulled away and examined her. "Are you okay? How are you feeling? Why did you leave like that? I missed you!"

Jeremy rambled on. Aimee laughed, answering his frenzied questions. MiNam smiled brightly. She was so happy to see Aimee again. After Jeremy was done, Aimee turned to look at her. She smiled, and Aimee pulled her into a hug.

"I'm glad your back, sunbae," MINam said to her. She nodded.

"I'm glad to be back," she said. Then, she turned to TaeKyung.

"I thought you really weren't going to come back," TaeKyung crossed his arms grumpily and frowned. Aimee laughed. MiNam smiled at TaeKyung's tough act. Everyone knew how much he had missed her.

"Good to see you, Oppa," she grinned. TaeKyung rolled his eyes, but then put his arms around her lightly to hug her. She hugged him back.

"Now, where's ShinWoo oppa? That butt isn't even going to greet me?" Aimee smiled. Everyone was silent a moment, surprised at her sudden and casual mention of ShinWoo. She didn't seem at all angry or bitter as she asked about him. MiNam shifted nervously.

"What?" Aimee asked, her brows raising at the sudden tension.

"He's inside," TaeKyung said quietly. MiNam frowned, not liking TaeKyung's sudden mood swing. He and ShinWoo had had little arguments about how ShinWoo wouldn't go to see Aimee. MiNam didn't speak to ShinWoo however. Ever since he'd come back from Busan, he's been a bit scary. And anyway, MiNam understood why he couldn't face Aimee. MiNam wouldn't be able to, either. She could hardly face ShinWoo, after all.

They went inside. ShinWoo was in the kitchen, getting himself a cup of tea. He looked up as he saw everyone enter. Holding his cup of tea, he froze as he saw Aimee. There was a brief silence. It was shattered, _literally_, as ShinWoo's tea cup fell from his hand and broke against the tiled floor.

* * *

ShinWoo held the cup of hot tea in his hand. He heard the others, and turned, seeing Jeremy, MiNam, and TaeKyung. His eye suddenly caught hold of a very familiar face.

_Aimee._

Suddenly, the cup of hot tea slipped from ShinWoo's hand and shattered against the hard-tiled floor. Then, almost immediately, Aimee was on the ground, picking up the pieces of broken porcelain.

"You're not usually the clutz, oppa," Aimee said, her voice cheery and light.

ShinWoo didn't reply. He still wasn't sure Aimee was really in front of him right now. He was speechless at the sight of her. His eyes never left Aimee. She picked up the pieces of porcelain into her hand.

Suddenly, he snapped back to his senses and bent over to help her.

"Let me do it," he said softly. "You might get cut."

"I'm fine," she replied. ShinWoo didn't hear any bitterness, hate, or mockery in her tone. He swallowed hard. What was going on here? Why was she being so casual? Had she forgiven him? He didn't dare hope for anything from her. He didn't deserve anything.

Aimee looked up at him, and her eye immediately caught glimpse of the shining silver star pendant around his neck. She looked back down at the ground quickly, but then, she saw the bracelet around his wrist. She said nothing, but ShinWoo knew she'd seen the small bit of hemp and rhino bone poking out from under his long-sleeved sweater.

* * *

I saw the bracelet. The hemp and rhino-bone bracelet I'd bought him in Yeosu. He was wearing it. And my star necklace too. My heart fluttered. I didn't know what to say or do now. Up until now, it had been easier. I could be happy. Now, I wasn't so sure.

I walked over the garbage, dumping my handful of broken porcelain into the trash.

"I'm going to go take Jolie for her walk," Jeremy said suddenly and quickly left the room.

"I'll go write some music," TaeKyung muttered and headed out as well.

"I…I'll go do…something in my room," MiNam said nervously and stumbled after TaeKyung to her room. I didn't know whether to be thankful to them all or to be upset. I washed my hands in the sink and grabbed the broom from the closet. I started sweeping up the rest of the porcelain while ShinWoo simply stood there, staring at me.

"S-stop…" ShinWoo grabbed my hand suddenly. I resisted the urge to yank my hands away from him. They were so warm. It was almost as if I was being burned. I tensed a bit, but then I relaxed. The old Aimee. The old Aimee wouldn't have been scared. She would've simply smiled up at ShinWoo like nothing.

So Aimee did smile at him.

"Let go, oppa," I said and continued to sweep. ShinWoo stopped me again, though and took the broom from me.

"Stop," he said again. "Aimee…are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Stop pretending," ShinWoo said sharply. I jumped at his tone.

"I'm not pretending anything," I couldn't help but snap. I took the broom back from him and stuffed it into the closet.

"Why are you pretending everything is okay?" ShinWoo asked. "I can see it in your eyes. You sound happy; but your eyes…You're sadder than ever and I can see it."

My jaw clenched. Why did he pick _now_ to see right through me?

"I'm just trying to find myself again," I say simply. "I'm not sad anymore, ShinWoo oppa. I'm going to be happy. I'm not going to cry anymore."

ShinWoo was silent as I walked from the kitchen to my bedroom. I wasn't too surprised to see my room completely clean and waiting for my return. I smiled sadly. I remembered the mess I had left it in. Everything was back in order. Even the broken picture on my nightstand had been put into a new frame. I walked over to my vanity and grabbed my make-up, packing it into my bag.

"What are you doing?" ShinWoo asked from the doorway.

"Packing," I said simply.

"You're not staying?" ShinWoo asked, narrowing his eyes at me.

"Of course not," I don't look at him. "I have my own house."

I'd made the decision to go back to living at my house on the way back from the Yeosu. I thought it would be better for me. Maybe it would help me not to go crazy like I nearly had before. As I finished packing my make-up I went to my nightstand. I looked at the picture, debating for a moment if I should take it with me or not. I reached out to it and turned it down so the picture wasn't visible.

"What are you doing?" ShinWoo asked again. "Aren't you going to take that with you?"

"What for?" I ask, my hand lingers on the picture frame. Suddenly, ShinWoo grabs my hand. He jerks me around to look at him.

"You can't go again. You just got back…and we need to talk…" he says slowly.

"About _what?_" I sigh.

"About us," he says simply. I scoff.

"Didn't we have this talk in Yeosu?" I try to yank my hand away, but he holds onto it. I see the hemp bracelet around his wrist underneath his sweater again.

"But I didn't understand back then," ShinWoo insists. His tone is gentle now. "I didn't know that you…liked me."

_It was more than that. I loved him._

"Oh and you understand so much better now, huh?" I say sarcastically. He had figured out most of it. But why did it take him so long? And after so much crap had already happened? I was still too upset about Nobu to care right now about him. It wasn't that I didn't care at all; I was just confused.

"I do understand now," ShinWoo takes both my hands into his. "When you kissed me on the plane and said I never saw what was in front of my eyes…"

"So what?" I bit my lip. It wasn't like he was asking to be with me.

"I just wanted to talk about it," ShinWoo said.

"What is there to talk about?" I yanked my hands away from him. I sighed. "You love _her_. _She's_ the one in your heart. No matter how much you understand my feelings, you can't accept them. Even if you did, I wouldn't let you. Not until you can say you've forgotten her!"

"I…"

"I don't want to hear it because I know-!"

Suddenly, ShinWoo grabs me and pulls me into his arms, pressing his lips to mine. I'm too shocked to do anything. So I just stand there a moment. ShinWoo reaches up with a hand and places it gently on my cheek. His other hand goes to the back of my head. I close my eyes and start to kiss back. But it's not sweet like a kiss should be. Something wasn't right here.

I stop. What was I doing? ShinWoo…MiNam…what was going on now? Nobu. I think of Nobu again and my heart wrenches. Whether it was from remembering Nobu, or from ShinWoo's empty kiss, I didn't know. My heart aches. I pull away from ShinWoo and resist the urge to slap him. That kiss had been completely empty. I could feel it.

_It wasn't even me he was kissing._

I say nothing to him anymore as I walked over to my desk. I opened the drawer, looking for my music sheets. I ignore ShinWoo. My brows furrowed as I didn't see the song I'd written. Not even a peek of bright sparkling purple ink. I threw down my bag and rummaged through my papers.

"What are you looking for?" ShinWoo asked, coming up beside me.

"My...A…I had a song written on some paper here," I muttered. Where was it? My song. My song…Where was it?

"Aimee."

ShinWoo and I both turn around. I see TaeKyung standing in the doorway. He holds a small stack of papers in his hands. Some are crumpled, and I recognize the purple ink as he waves it.

"I took care of it for you," TaeKyung smiles a little.

"Thank you," I say softly as I take the papers from him. I give him a slight smile.

* * *

"President Ahn! President Ahn!" I chased after the tall man. Finally hearing me, he turns.

"Oh! It's Aimee! You're back!" he grins. "Where've you gone to? TaeKyung was ready to send out a missing person's report!"

"It's a long story," I laugh a little. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"About what?" he asked.

"About…my singing," I choked the words out. He blinked at me.

"But Aimee, your voice…" he trailed off. I know he didn't want to hurt my feelings.

"I know, I know, " I say quickly. "After the accident…I know. But I think I've got it. I went to see a specialist and…could you just listen to me, just once?"

President Ahn seemed to think about it. He was a good man, I knew. Sometimes strange and sometimes odd, but a good man.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt just to hear you once," President Ahn shrugged. "After all, you've really helped me out a lot by leading the choreography. I'm not promising anything though, okay?"

"_Komawoyo!" _I grin, pumping my first into the air.

"Okay, I'm headed to the studio now. I've even got the producer to MiNam's single waiting. Must be your lucky day if you do good," President Ahn smiles. I smile back at him and we make our way to the studio.

"President Ahn!" I see a young looking man in all black sitting at the mixing table. President Ahn smiles at him. He nods to me, recognizing my presence. I bow back.

"This is Aimee," President Ahn explains. "A really good employee of mine for years now. We're going to do a quick demo for her. She wants to sing for us. Care to listen? It'll only take a moment."

"Sure, let's go," the man flashed a smile. I smiled back.

"Thank you for your time," I step into the recording room. President Ahn asks me what song I'll sing. I think a moment. Then, I smile.

"_I Have Nothing_ by Whitney Houston," I say, grinning. It was the song I'd sang when I got recruited by A.N.

"Your audition song," President Ahn laughs. "Okay then."

It took him only a moment to find the song. I place the headphones on over my ears and pick up the microphone. I straighten my back, lift up my head. I breathe deeply. President Ahn signals to ask if I'm ready. I take another deep breath.

_Please let this work._

I nod back to President Ahn.

"I have nothing, _nothing_, if I don't have you…" I let the note trail off as the song ended. I opened my eyes and looked at President Ahn and MiNam's producer. They were both staring off into space. I bit my lip. I had sung perfectly. Hadn't I?

"Aimee…" President Ahn trailed off. His voice sounded tight.

"You sounded wonderful!" the producer grinned. I let out a deep breath.

President Ahn comes into the studio. He places both hands onto my shoulders and grins at me. Then, he pulls me into a big hug. I'm shocked, and stumble.

"Welcome back, Jung Aimee!" he shouts. "_Jackpot!_ Your voice is back!"

"Maybe we should talk about reenacting your contract," the producer grinned as well.

"Aigoo…" I blush now.

"I'll go get MiNam. We have business," President Ahn smiles. "We'll talk about _you_ later, alright?"

I nod and he leaves the studio. I'm just about to leave too when I hear the producer put on a song. It lulls softly on the speakers. I recognize the tune immediately.

"What can I do?" I ask softly.

"Oh, you know this song too," the producer smiled as I turn around and look at him.

"Is this the version TaeKyung wrote for Mo HwaRan?" I ask him.

"Yes, he's finished it now," the producer hands me the lyrics. "A lovely remake."

I read over the lyrics. They sound as if someone had just been through a tough breakup. My grip tightens around the papers. His mother was a monster. Forcing him to rewrite this song for her. What mother would ask that of their child?

Suddenly, the door opens. President Ahn returns with MiNam at his side. She smiled at me. I smiled back.

"Oh, it's 'What Do I Do'!" President Ahn exclaimed, hearing the music.

"Yeah," the producer says. "I already sent a copy of the new song to Mo Hwa Ran."

"Good, good," President Ahn nods. "We should schedule some recording time with Mo Hwa Ran."

I notice MiNam get a bit quiet. She sighs deeply, picking up a glass paper-weight star and staring at it. I wonder if her sigh is dreamy or depressed. It sounds a bit more depressed.

"Yah, how are you and TaeKyung?" I ask quietly, nudging her.

"Oh, we're good," she whispers back.

"So you confessed?" I smirk. She blushed.

"He likes me too," she muttered back.

"Really?" I gape at her. "Wow. Awesome. Lucky you."

"Yeah," she nods. "What about you and ShinWoo hyung? I noticed you guys were talking."

"Oh, that," my tone drops. "It's nothing. He's an idiot."

MiNam laughs a little.

"You know, Go JaeHyun and Mo HwaRan didn't just have any relationship."

The producer's words broke out private conversation. He was talking to President Ahn. I roll my eyes. _Slut_, I think. But as I look back at MiNam, her entire attention is drawn to the producer and President Ahn.

"Ah, that's right. I noticed before," President Ahn nodded. "She was dating the songwriter?"

The producer chuckled, "They dated so long that everyone knew about it."

Every other word they spoke seemed to be tuned out. MiNam was frozen in her spot. I looked at her. I nudged her a bit, but she didn't move. A look of complete horror was slapped onto her face. I thought she might just faint.

"MiNam?" I touched her shoulder. Suddenly, the star paper-weight fell from her hands and shattered against the floor. I jumped back. President Ahn and the producer turned around and stared at us.

"Oh! MiNam! Are you hurt?" President Ahn runs to MiNam's side. She's stares at the ground. I touch her shoulder. I'd never seen her expression like this before. As if something in her had just died.

"Yah, MiNam are you hurt? It's completely shattered," I put my arms on MiNam's shoulders. She surprises me by suddenly shoving me off and running out the studio.

"M-MiNam!" I take off after her. But by the time I'm at the stairs, MiNam is already running out the door. I run out the door after her, but see no sign of her. I get into my car and pull out.

MiNam was really upset. I didn't know why. It was strange. She always seemed so happy and outgoing. Seeing her so upset was irking me. I intended to find out what was going on. And anyway, I hadn't paid that monster of a mother a visit in a long ass time.

* * *

"What?" MiNam's aunt exclaimed. "H-how did you…How did you find out about that?"

"So it's true," MiNam gritted her teeth. Her heart shattered just like the paperweight. He heard President Ahn and the producer's words in her ears over and over again.

_"They dated so long that everyone knew about it."_

Her heart broke again and again.

"Uhm…MiNam," her aunt touched her hand. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to get hurt. That's why I didn't say anything."

MiNam scoffed. She wouldn't feel bad? How could her aunt say such a thing? MiNam was so angry. She wasn't used to this. But she was so angry. Her fists were clenched and she thought she would explode. Her aunt went on.

"If you knew that your dad left your mom because of Mo HwaRan, I thought you might be upset," her aunt suddenly said.

Everything froze for MiNam.

"W-what…?" MiNam asked, her voice meek.

"You were just…looking so hard for your mom," her aunt sighed. "And if you knew she was cast aside, died alone while having you guys…you might even hate your father. That's why I didn't say anything."

Tears poured from MiNam's eyes as she listened to her aunt's words.

"My mother…" MiNam cried. "…was cast aside…and died…_alone?_"

MiNam's aunt came to her side. She touched his shoulder.

"MiNam, are you okay?" she asked.

_Stupid. Stupid. How could I be okay? My mother died alone!_

"She said they were just friends," MiNam choked out. "She said they were just friends. I'm going to ask her again."

MiNam bolted from her chair and ran out the door. She was going to ask again. And MiNam had to pray to God.

_They were just friends…just friends…_

**

* * *

**

Author's Note:

Heyy guys =D Finally got around to writing a new chapter. Sorry for the slowness. I hate internet-blocking programs . I can't access the right way cause of them. Darnnn you parents! LOL. Anyway, I'll do my best =)

Just for those interested, this would be how Aimee sang 'I Have Nothing'. Yes, Luna's accent is really hard to understand. What do you expect? =D I love her powerful voice.

http(colon)//www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=MEzecKvWKbY


	36. Chapter 36

"I'm sorry, she's not in the condition to talk right now," the young man bows to me.

I scoff, "Don't tell me she's stinking drunk. Go back up there and tell her it has to do with Hwang TaeKyung. Immediately. She'll see me."

The man looked at me strangely a bit, then turned to tell Mo HwaRan. And of course, he came back with a quick reply that she'd see me. He led me up to her room and quickly left. I found HwaRan sitting on a loveseat, a glass of wine in her hand.

_Just as I thought. Drunk._

"Long time no see, Jung Aimee," she smirks drunkenly at me. "What's this urgent news about my son? Is he hurt? Or what?"

"Actually, I didn't come to talk about TaeKyung," I cross my arms at her. She stares at me.

"Then what?"

"I came to talk about _Go JaeHyun_," I say the songwriter's name slowly. I let it sink into her. Mo HwaRan's expression immediately turns dark. There's a long tense silence between us.

"Vile girl. I'll never know what TaeKyung saw in you," HwaRan scoffed.

"You don't know anything about Hwang TaeKyung," I scoffed back at her.

"He's still my son!" she snapped at me.

"There's more to being a mother than popping a baby out between your legs," I spat at her. She scoffs at my language, but I don't care. I have to bring the conversation back. I can't stray now. I didn't come to tell her what a terrible mother she was. At least, not this time.

"What is Go MiNam's relationship to Go JaeHyun?" I demand.

"You don't even know MiNam," Mo HwaRan smirks, instead of answering me. "You only know a _Go MiNyu_."

I tense a moment. I can't wonder about how she knows. I have to get an answer out of her.

"Either way," I say through gritted teeth.

"He's the twins' father," HwaRan says simply.

"What's _your_ relationship with him then?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at her.

"We were lovers," HwaRan answers simply and cooly. I almost want to tackle her down and beat the crap out of her. But I stay still. At least now, I am starting to understand why MiNam was so upset.

"I'm guessing you're not her mother. You were just the home wrecker, right?" I snap at her.

"They weren't even married!" HwaRan snarls at me. "Anyway, he loved _me._ Her pregnancy was an _accident_. He loved _me_."

"You never fail to disgust me," I snap. "It's bad enough you neglected your own child and treated him as if he didn't exist. Now, you even took a mother away from both her children as well as their father? That's three orphans that have become _because of you_!"

"It was never my choice to fall in love!" Mo HwaRan bolted up from the loveseat, but then stopped. She swayed a bit and sat back down. I grit my teeth.

"Miss," the young man from earlier enters again. "Go MiNam requests to speak to you. Should I let him come up?"

I tense. MiNam…came here?

"Bring him up," Mo HwaRan has a small smirk on her face.

"What are you doing?" I narrow my eyes at her as she pulled out her phone and dialed a number. She ignores me.

"The man I left you for…the man I loved, I'm going to meet with his children. Won't you come and see?" Mo HwaRan says into her phone. With horror, I suddenly realize who she'd just called up. I dive for her phone, but she dodges me.

_God, no_.

"Come and see, my son. It's a girl named Go MiNyu. Come and see," she purrs into the phone. I open my mouth to scream, but she's already hung up. She looks at me.

"Tonight, they both learn _everything_," she lets her phone drop to the floor.

* * *

"S-sunbae!"

I turn and see MiNam, staring at me.

"S-sunbae!" MiNam exclaims as she sees Aimee standing in Mo HwaRan's room.

"Welcome," HwaRan smiles at her. Aimee looks away from MiNam, as if she was defeated or ashamed. MiNam wonders why Aimee is here.

"What are you doing here?" MiNam asked Aimee, ignoring Mo HwaRan.

After a moment, Aimee replied.

"To find out the same thing you came to find out," she muttered. MiNam is reminded of her purpose here. She turns to look at Mo HwaRan.

"You said you and my father were just friends. Is that true?" MiNam's voice cracked.

"I was going to let you believe that," HwaRan sighed. "But you've already figured out everything on your own, haven't you?"

Mo HwaRan takes a sip of wine from her glass. MiNam resists the urge to slap it out of her hand.

"Please," MiNam's voice cracks again. "Tell me it's not true."

"MiNam," Aimee strides over to her and takes her arm. "We should go now."

"No! I won't go until she's answered me!" MiNam snapped, crying. Aimee didn't make her move or leave. But her grip tightened on MiNam's arm. MiNam wasn't going to go until she got an answer from Mo HwaRan.

"We weren't just friends," Mo HwaRan suddenly said. "We couldn't forget each other and held onto one another no matter what. We loved each other that much."

MiNam felt herself crumble. She almost fell to the ground, had it not been for Aimee's grip on her arm. MiNam's tears flowed freely down her face. It had been the truth. Aimee pulled MiNam back up to her feet, stroking her arm.

"MiNam, please, just let it go for now," Aimee begged her.

"You loved each other so much…" MiNam muttered, crying. "That my dad left my mom and you…left Hwang TaeKyung…?"

"You…!" Mo HwaRan seemed shocked that MiNam knew her little secret.

"I know," MiNam spat at her. "I know you left the one person in the world who should've been the most precious thing to you. I can't believe a person like you, who would leave your child, is someone who can love."

Aimee's grip wavered on MiNam's arm. MiNam saw tears form in Mo HwaRan's eyes.

"What you and my father had wasn't true love, was it?" MiNam's words were colder than she had ever been in her entire life. Something in her was aching so deeply and permanently. All her and her bother's efforts…

Mo HwaRan suddenly chuckled.

"You're saying the same thing your mother said," she sighed. "She ignored me, not believing your father would come back to me."

"She probably didn't believe it because you were a person who left other's recklessly and treated others recklessly," MiNam kept her words going. "And I don't believe it either. It's not possible my father would've loved someone like you."

Mo HwaRan stared at MiNam a long moment. Aimee had already stopped trying to persuade her to leave. It was useless. Suddenly, Mo HwaRan snatched up the CD on her coffee table.

"You can't believe it, even though the proof is right here?" HwaRan stuck the CD in MiNam's face. It was 'What Do I Do?'. MiNam couldn't even say anything back.

"This song that TaeKyung remade," HwaRan started slowly. "It's the song your father wrote asking me to come back to him. Your dad wrote it and I sang it for the world to hear."

MiNam's tears flowed so quickly. She bit her lip and gritted her teeth so had it hurt.

"That's the reason your mother acknowledged our love and finally left," Mo HwaRan said each word slowly, letting it sink into MiNam's fragile heart.

"It's a lie," MiNam said. "It's a lie."

"Everyone acknowledged it!" Mo HwaRan screamed. Her shrill voice pierced MiNam's ears and made her jump. Then, HwaRan seemed to maintain her cool again. She scoffed, and smiled.

"Why? Why can't you just accept it? Why deny it?" Mo HwaRan asked, her voice soft, but taunting. "My son didn't understand it, but he acknowledged it. That's why he remade the song."

"That's a lie!" It was Aimee's turn to scream. "You used your influence as a mother to force him to rewrite it."

"Even so, you can't deny what was," Mo HwaRan doesn't even look at Aimee. She stares MiNam down. "I met you when you were young. If your father hadn't passed away, I would've become your mother."

MiNam stared at this woman. This evil, reckless, cruel woman. Her mother? Never. Never.

"I was going to compensate you with my fortunes," Mo HwaRan told her. "Didn't your aunt tell you?"

MiNam thought about it. The way her aunt had tried to be so sneaky. How her aunt had hid the truth of Mo HwaRan from MiNam. MiNam slowly shook her head.

"Compensation…?" MiNam choked.

"TaeKyung knew I was going to be good to you," Mo HwaRan smiled. "I told him everything about my relationship with your father. But…he doesn't know you're JaeHyun's daughter, does he? Did you tell him you knew he was my son?"

MiNam blinked. She thought hard and long. No. She hadn't. Guilt gnawed at her. Who would've been more hurt? Her? TaeKyung? Her mother? Her father? Mo HwaRan? MiNam's head throbbed.

"I didn't tell him because I was worried for him," MiNam said immediately to justify herself. "I wasn't trying to deceive him."

"Tell it to him," Mo HwaRan's stare was cold and icy. "Let's see if he believes you."

MiNam choked on sobs again. Aimee gritted her teeth and dragged MiNam towards the door to leave. But it was too late. The door burst open and there stood Hwang TaeKyung, tears in his eyes.

* * *

"Y-you…!" TaeKyung choked on his words as he saw both me and MiNam.

"H-hyung-nim…" MiNam couldn't even speak.

"TaeKyung, please don't assume anything," I make a move towards him, but the look he sends my way tells me to back off.

Suddenly, Mo HwaRan walks over to MiNam and puts her arms around his shoulders.

"This girl is the daughter of the man your mom loved," she said, a smug smile on her face.

TaeKyung stared at me, then MiNam. I saw the tears in both their eyes. I could tell how hurt TaeKyung was. MiNam looked even more hurt. Mo HwaRan was so smug that I wanted to smack her. But I couldn't will my body to move.

"She said she wasn't trying to deceive you by not telling you," Mo HwaRan said simply. MiNam opened her mouth to speak, but TaeKyung had already stormed off and ran out of the room. MiNam sprinted after him. I finally willed myself to move my head and glare at Mo HwaRan.

"You're a monster," I spat at her, but my words were soft. I'd never seen TaeKyung hurt like that, except when anyone mentioned his mother. "Isn't it bad enough you left him to rot on his own? Why did you have to destroy his one chance at love?"

I didn't even bother to listen for a response from her. I took off after Taekyung and MiNam.

_I should've never come here. Please let them be okay._

* * *

ShinWoo held the phone up to his ear. MiNam wasn't picking up. He grew frustrated. They needed to make a plan. Reporter Kim wanted to interview both her _and_ her brother. _Together_. The real MiNam wasn't back yet. And they couldn't do the interview.

The sound of heavy footsteps up the staircase caught ShinWoo's attention. He ducked behind a pillar as he saw TaeKyung.

_Why was he so angry?_

Then, he saw MiNam running up behind TaeKyung. She grabbed his arm. They spoke a moment, in harsh whispers. Both seemed to be crying. ShinWoo watched from afar. He saw TaeKyung shove MiNam away from him. Something in him snapped. His fists clenched, but he stayed watching silently behind the pillar.

"I don't want to see you ever again!" TaeKyung snapped at her and stomped away.

ShinWoo saw MiNam fall to her knees, sobbing loudly. Her choking sobs shook her small body and it broke his heart. Despite everything he'd told himself these past days…telling himself about moving on and forgetting her…about how he might even like Aimee…

All of it was gone. All he could think about now was MiNam and her crying.

* * *

"Sunbae, I'm worried about him," MiNam said softly. I looked at her. We're sitting on the roof of the housetop, talking girl talk. Ever since the night with Mo HwaRan, TaeKyung hasn't spoken to anyone in the house and just stays in his room or at the studio.

"He seems to be cutting himself off from us all," MiNam muttered. "He won't look at me. He won't speak to us. I don't know if you'll be able to get through to him…but I've lost hope."

I took MiNam's hands.

"Don't lose hope, MiNam," I tell her. "I'll try my best to find TaeKyung for you. He might not listen to me, but I can try. He's my best friend. He promised me when we were kids that he'd always be my best friend. And I won't let go of him. Never give up on him, MiNam."

"I'm just so worried, and I feel terrible for hiding the truth from him," MiNam rubbed away her tears. I hugged her in my arms and patted her back.

"It's okay, MiNam," I force a smile. "I won't let TaeKyung think he's alone in this."

"I know…I just…don't want him to end up hurting himself," she sighed.

"I won't let him," I smile at her. "I won't let him be alone."

She smiles faintly back. I give her hand a light squeeze and then head towards the door. Talking to TaeKyung might be best at this point. It'll be hard to approach him, but between us all, I knew him the best. But as I head towards his room, I'm suddenly pulled aside by ShinWoo. He drags me into the backyard. Before I can even ask him what's going on, I see Manager Ma as well.

"It's about MiNam and MiNyu," Manager Ma said softly.

* * *

"We'll be heading to Okinawa in a couple hours for the fan signing," I explained to TaeKyung. I didn't tell him about Reporter Kim. He didn't look up at me. He kept his eyes fixed on his blank music sheet. He scoffed.

"Why are you even going, Jung Aimee? You're not part of A.," he muttered.

I ignored his statement, "Aren't you going to come with us?"

"I'll come by myself," he said simply.

I bite my lip. He really wasn't expecting to talk to me. Was he so angry with me, just for knowing about MiNam, her father, and his mother? My heart wrenched. I reached over to touch his hand. He flinched and pulled away from me. He continued to glare at his papers. He looked so scary.

"Don't look like that, Hwang TaeKyung," my voice was soft. "When you look like that, it looks like everyone is your enemy. And even I'm afraid to approach you."

He doesn't reply. I reach to take his hand again.

"You're not alone in anything you do, oppa," I say. "Don't turn of your lights, expecting to be blind to everything. I'm still here, even if you can't see it. The same goes for ShinWoo, Jeremy, and…MiNam, too."

Still, TaeKyung says nothing. I squeeze his hand and then turn to the door.

"We'll be taking MiNam with us. You follow later, oppa," I tell him from the doorway.

* * *

I walked along the beach barefoot, letting my feet sink into the sand. Jeremy sits down beside me, patting the sand into a big hill. MiNam and ShinWoo stood closer to the water's edge. I stared at them a moment before looking away. I walked to the water's edge and stuck my feet in.

"Aigoo, that's cold," I pout. Jeremy laughs lightly.

"I've never seen the sea before, actually," MiNam says suddenly. "It's beautiful."

"Really?" I ask her.

"I've seen it on TV or pictures, but never like this," she took a deep breath.

"We can go rent and boat and browse more," ShinWoo suggests.

"It's okay," she smiles lightly. "I'm fine just looking at it like this."

She looks at me and laughs.

"Aren't you cold, sunbae?" she asks. I grin. It was chilly out here. I had been stupid and decided to ear my bathing suit out here with nothing much a thin cover-up. I rubbed my arms up and down. Having my long hair gone didn't help either.

"It's a bit chilly," I admit. She smiles and steps closer to the water. I take her hand and slowly, we tread the shallow ends of the water. MiNam stops again and stares out at the sea.

"It seems so far. Endless," she mutters.

"MiNam," Jeremy pipes up. "The earth is round. It may look far, but the further away you go, the earth is round, so eventually, you will end up just where you started. Just like the magic bus."

"That's true," MiNam smiled. "But it'll take a really long time."

She takes another step forward. I move with her, but then ShinWoo grabs her arm to stop her.

"Don't run away," he says suddenly. I stare at him, but he's looking at MiNam. "Don't run away by yourself. I'm here to hold onto you. We all are."

MiNam surprises me by brushing his arm off of her. She looks at him and smiles.

"Don't hold onto me anymore, ShinWoo hyung," she says. "This is the first time I've been to the sea. So of course, I have to step in by myself and experience it all for my own."

ShinWoo and I watch as she walks into the water by herself. Then, I turn to look a ShinWoo. He's looking at MiNam, but then turns and looks at me. I force a smile at him. He smiles back just a little.

**

* * *

**

Author's Note:

Omg. I can NOT believe the drama is already almost over! Ahh….

Not much to say to you tonight. Gotta go to bed. Urg. It's late and my mom is nagging me .


	37. Chapter 37

I sneezed.

"How many times are you going to get soaking wet?" ShinWoo scolded me, rubbing my hair with a towel. "I'm surprised you're not sick and dying yet."

I grin. I was soaking. MiNam and I had decided to mess around in the water and started splashing each other. ShinWoo and Jeremy had decided to stay out of our fight, but we didn't care. We girls laughed and splashed each other. In the end, we were both soaked. MiNam had run off to her room, but as I had tried to, ShinWoo came at me with a towel. Now, we were sitting in his hotel room with tea brewing in two small cups.

"What? Do you want me to be sick and dying?" I stick my tongue out at him. He smirks.

"Don't ask such things," he says.

"You said it," I reply. He lets the towel drop on my head. It covers my eyes. I yank the towel off, but I see he's already gotten up and headed for the tea. He takes the cups and hands me on. I take it and use it to warm my cold hands.

"So what's your real reason for dragging me off into your room like this? It's scandalous," I nudge him. I smile. For some reason, running around in the sea was relaxing. I felt more at ease than I've felt in a while.

It was good to be on vacation.

"I wanted to talk to you," he replied simply.

"You seem to want to be talking to me a lot lately," I smooth out the material of my cover-up, avoiding his looks. Well, my mood just died. Every time we 'talked' something went wrong.

"This may be…weird for me to talk to you about, but…" he trailed off a moment. "I've been thinking about what you said to me."

I scoff, "What part? I've said a lot of things to you."

"'If you loved her, you'd try everything you could to hold onto her'," he repeated my own words to me. My heart sank, though I don't know why. You think I'd get used to this heartache. But I wasn't. It still hurt every time he mentioned her in that way.

"I'm going to try everything to hold onto her," he nodded slowly to himself. I stared at him, but he was staring at his tea.

"You're going to confess to her?" I ask, my voice soft.

"I'm going to confess the whole story," he replied. "I'm going to tell her I've known since the very beginning. And I'm going to tell her I've loved her just as long too."

"Why tell me this? Why not just tell her yourself and spare me the soliloquy?" I can't even keep the bitterness out of my tone. ShinWoo looked over at me, and smiled a little bit.

"I don't even know," he replied. "Just…I wanted to tell you for some reason. We were 'close' weren't we?"

"That was a long time ago," I look away from him. "You don't even tell me secrets anymore."

"And yet you knew about MiNam when no one else did," he sipped his tea. "You knew where I hid every time I was in pain. You came running and you would always comfort me."

"I'd say the same to you," I stared at him. It was true. He had always run to comfort me and he had always found me when I was hiding because the pain was too much to bear.

"That was a long time ago," he gave me a small smile. "My point is…I never had to tell you for you to know. I didn't need to tell you anything for us to be 'close'. We're close already, just by being ourselves."

"What's your point?" I grip my teacup tightly in my hand.

"I…" he trailed off. I looked at him.

"Don't tell me you _think_ you like me," I interrupt. "Don't tell me anything."

He blinks at me. I sigh and put down the cup of tea. I stand to leave. He stands too.

"I'm happy you're going to confess to her," I force a smile at him. "It's the only thing I ever wanted you to do. I never expected you to love me back. I just wanted you to stop hurting yourself. I just wanted you to try your best. I wanted you to be happy. So stop hurting yourself. Hold onto her because even if you get hurt…you'll be glad you were able to confess."

"Like you did?" ShinWoo asked.

I don't answer him right away. I only smile and turn to the door. As I reach the door, I turn back and look at him.

"I haven't confessed everything yet, ShinWoo oppa," I tell him. He blinks at me. "But good luck. Honestly. Good luck, ShinWoo."

* * *

ShinWoo watched as Aimee went.

_She hadn't confessed everything yet?_

What did she mean?

ShinWoo sighed. He buried his face in his hands. He didn't know why he called her here. Was it because he was hoping for her to stop him? Was it because maybe he wanted her to say something? He didn't know. But now…with Aimee wishing him the best, he couldn't back down.

He took out his phone and dialed MiNam's number. She picked up.

"ShinWoo hyung?" she greeted.

"Meet me at the greenhouse in fifteen minutes, okay?" ShinWoo asked. "I have something to tell you."

"O-oh, okay," she stuttered her reply.

He hung up and sighed deeply. It was now or never. He grabbed his jacket and made his way outside. He couldn't back down now. He wouldn't back down. He couldn't let himself down…couldn't let Aimee down. She wanted this from him. It was the only thing she ha ever asked of him.

He could do that for her, at least, right?

* * *

I made my way silently to the greenhouse. Despite my stubborn pride telling me not to go interfere, I couldn't help my gut feeling. I was afraid she would reject him. I knew she would reject him. And though I could do nothing for him, I followed.

I watched silently as I saw MiNam enter the greenhouse. I could see ShinWoo was already standing inside, expecting her. I made my way against the shadows and watched from behind a bush. I pursed my lips, wondering what they were exactly saying. All I know was that MiNam didn't look pleased. She looked hurt and shocked as I saw ShinWoo's lips silently move. His face was full of seriousness.

My heart broke for him.

He was going to get his heart broken once and for all. And there was nothing I could do this time to protect him.

* * *

"I showed you everything today," ShinWoo stepped closer to MiNam. She looked utterly horrified at the truth he'd just let out. "Even if you don't want to see it, you have to. I've already told you everything."

ShinWoo places his hands on her shoulders. She tenses, looking up at him with frightened eyes. It hurt him. Was she afraid of him? She had no right to be. He'd never done anything but helped her and protected her! But still…as long as she looked at him…

"Like up until now, I'll always be looking at you," he muttered to her. "So please, don't try to run away to somewhere where I won't be able to see you. Look at me."

Tears glistened in her eyes, and ShinWoo saw them. His heart wrenched. MiNam opened her mouth to reply to his words. He waited, but she couldn't find anything to say. He looked away a moment, not being able to stand seeing her with tears in her eyes. That's when his eye caught something.

TaeKyung stood about four feet from the greenhouse. He stared straight at them. He saw ShinWoo with his hands on MiNam's shoulders. And ShinWoo saw the betrayal in TaeKyung's eyes. Though TaeKyung was his friend, instead of letting MiNam go, ShinWoo had remembered his promise to Aimee. He would hold onto MiNam no matter what.

And so, looking away from TaeKyung, ShinWoo pulled MiNam into his arms. She fell into his chest, having no choice but to hold onto him to keep from falling. ShinWoo felt her warmth against him. He closed his eyes and sighed.

* * *

I heard a sound behind me. I turned sharply and saw TaeKyung. He stared at me a moment. Then, his eyes trailed to the sight of ShinWoo and MiNam. My heart wrenched. No. Why now? Why him? Did TaeKyung have to see what hurt him? I could see the pain in TaeKyung's eyes as he stared on at ShinWoo and MiNam.

Then, I watched as MiNam stumbled into ShinWoo's arms suddenly. Something in my own heart jerks. I saw MiNam and ShinWoo hug. Had she…accepted him? My lip quivered. I quickly scold myself. I should be happy that she accepted him. Not sad. I force a smile for myself.

But then, I remember TaeKyung. I walk over to him. I try to take his hand and lead him away from the scene, but he turns away from me and walks off. I catch a glimpse of tears in his eyes. My heart breaks as he walks away from me.

Why couldn't everyone just be happy? Was it too much to ask that everyone be happy?

I turn back to the heartbreaking scene of ShinWoo and MiNam. I expect to see smiles, but instead, I see MiNam muttering something to ShinWoo. From the look on ShinWoo's face, it's not something to be happy about. His face twists into a mask of unbearable pain. Suddenly, MiNam turns and walks away. My heart sinks.

_She…rejected him._

I duck quickly as MiNam runs from the greenhouse and past me. I look back at the greenhouse. I make my way slowly to the door. I bite my lip and peer in at ShinWoo. He falls to his knees, sobbing. My heart wrenches. I put my hand to the glass, but hesitate to push open the door.

I jump as ShinWoo suddenly stands and slams his hand against one of the empty plant-pots on the shelf in the greenhouse. I gasp as I see blood dripping from his fresh wounds. They snaked around his hand. Tears pricked my eyes. I shoved the greenhouse door open and went inside.

"How could you hurt your own hand?" I snap. ShinWoo freezes suddenly and turns slowly to look at me. The tears run down my face, but I don't care.

"How could you hurt your hand?" I say again, my voice cracking. "The hand that plays guitar. The hand that holds that tea cup so dearly. The hand that holds me when I cry…how could you let it get hurt again?"

I walk over to him, grabbing his hand gently and using my T-shirt to wipe away the blood. He flinches, but doesn't say anything. My white T-shirt is blood-stained, but I thought nothing of it. Suddenly, ShinWoo yanks his hand away and heads to the door. I stand there a moment. I grit my teeth, holding the edge of my blood-stained T-shirt in my hand. I turn and glare at his back.

Then, I run to him and wrap my arms around his waist. He stops. He doesn't move away, but he doesn't hug me back either. He just stands there. I can't tell if he's crying anymore or not.

"Let go of me, Jung Aimee," he says softly. I realize he means both physically as well as from my heart. I shake my head and hold onto him tighter.

"I won't," I protest. "I'll hold on as long as I have to."

"You're not afraid of hurting Nobu?" he asks.

"Nobu's always known I loved you," I choke out, thinking about Nobu again. "He left me because he knew I loved you. I won't let his heartbreak be in vain."

"Let go of me," he repeats again, softer.

"I don't want you to be alone," I mutter into his back. "I beg you. Don't hurt yourself anymore. I'm not asking you to give your love to me. I'm only asking for you to stop hurting yourself by loving her anymore. Just like I couldn't give you up for Nobu…MiNam will never be able to give up TaeKyung for you."

"I held on to her as long as I could, Aimee," ShinWoo muttered. "In the end, she still left."

He turned and looked at me. He forced a smile.

"Thank you for loving me with all your heart," he sighed. "But I don't have the courage to face you anymore. Goodbye, Jung Aimee."

With that, he turned and walked away. I stood there, watching him leave. I bit my lip.

_I held onto you as long as I could, too, ShinWoo oppa. In the end, you still left as well._

* * *

"Hyung! Hyung!" Jeremy came running down the stairs into the café where ShinWoo sat. MiNam sat beside him. Jeremy panted hard. He stopped to catch his breath.

"Aimee left. Her room is completely empty and she checked out of the hotel," he said. ShinWoo froze. The fork he'd been holding and eating with fell and clattered to the floor. MiNam beside him gasped.

"Sunbae left? To where? Did she leave a note?" MiNam asked frantically.

"I went to go invite her to the beach with me, but she had checked out. All she left was this for ShinWoo," Jeremy pulled out a manila envelope. On it in Aimee's curly hand-writing was ShinWoo's name printed neatly. Underneath his name, she'd written a short message

_Sorry I didn't get to say goodbye to everyone. Don't worry about me. I'll be alright. I never got to give this to you, ShinWoo oppa. I was going to, but I never got the chance. Tell the others I love them. Don't look for me. I will be back someday._

"What did she say?" MiNam asked ShinWoo. He didn't answer her. Instead, he opened the manila envelope. He pulled out the sheets of paper inside. He realized they were music sheets. He recognized Aimee's purple glitter-pen and her hand-writing. He read the title of the song.

"You're My Destiny, dedicated to Kang ShinWoo," he read aloud. His eyes wandered to the lyrics, written in Aimee's neat penmanship.

"'You are the only one I need. It rids the reason for everything else. I am fine with everything else as long as you are beside me. Even if the season or the world changes, I will always love you…Cause **You Are My Destiny! **People tell me that nothing stays the same. Promise me that we will be together forever. You can promise me that right?'" ShinWoo read the lyrics aloud, softly. His heart wrenched at every word.

"ShinWoo…" MiNam spoke beside him.

He bolted from his chair and ran to the front desk.

"When did Jung Aimee check out of her hotel room?" he demanded in his clumsy Japanese. The woman at the front desk blinked at him a moment, processing his words. Then, she stuttered and went to her guest book.

"Three hours ago," she replied.

ShinWoo ran from the room. He had to find her. He had to find her. He could still make it to the airport on time. How he knew she would be at the airport, he didn't know. But he knew Aimee was running away once again. He couldn't let her.


	38. Chapter 38

I glanced at my watch. I sighed. It seemed like time was moving so slow. I wandered around the airport. I didn't know why I didn't go. Maybe it was because I had just a little bit of hope someone would come for me. ShinWoo. But then, who was I kidding? And even if he did, would I go back?

After a good three hours of waiting, I decided to head off to my course. No one was coming. I laughed a little to myself. I was both disappointed and relieved. I made my way up the escalator. Just as I was about to turn into my course, I heard something.

"Aimee!"

He screamed loud enough that everyone on the platform turned to look at him. I freeze in my steps. I recognized his voice. I knew it was him. I slammed my eyes shut. My chest ached. No. No. Leave. Don't do this to me now. I was so strong…walking away…

"Aimee," ShinWoo said, softer. I opened my eyes and turned. He ran towards me and grabbed me by the shoulders.

"Didn't I say not to look for me?" I ask, forcing a smile.

"Don't run away," ShinWoo replied, his breathing hard. "Don't run away from us. From me. I'll look at you. You showed me everything today. You confessed everything. I see you. So don't run away to a place where I won't be able to see you anymore…"

I had to stay strong. I let his words sink in. Why now? Why when I had mustered up the strength to run away, did he finally see me? Fuck it. Fuck this. I had to stay strong. I couldn't go back now. I don't reply to his words. Instead, I simply look away.

ShinWoo continues.

"I always loved you, Jung Aimee," he whispered. "I just didn't know it. You were the one who saw me when I hid. You were the one who could make me angry and bring out my real emotions. You saw past my 'charming' facade and brought out the real me. And you faced me even if you didn't want to see. You always held me and guided me. I always loved you…I just never realized it."

I shrug his hands off me, "Well, I'm glad you finally realize it."

ShinWoo stared at me with hopeful eyes.

"But that doesn't mean I'm not going to go," I tell him. "No matter how the ending would've changed, I still would've gone. Whether you accepted me or not, I would've gone. I'm going back to America. I'm going to try to get back into school. I told you, I'd be back."

"A…America?" ShinWoo repeated softly. "Why can't you just go to school in Korea?"

"It doesn't matter," I step away from him. "I'm going to finish school. Maybe get my master's. I don't know."

"But…I..." Shinwoo trailed off, not knowing what to say to me. I force a smile.

"I know, you love me," I sigh. "Either way, I'm going to go. Maybe, I'll be gone for two years. Keep me in your mind always. And in your heart. When I come back, tell me if you still love me. If you still have these feelings. I'll tell you if I still love you when I come back as well."

I saw ShinWoo's tears. He was trying hard not to let them out. His lip quivered, he gritted his teeth. My heart wrenched. I reached up and brushed away the tears that fell with my thumb. I touched his cheeks.

"Take care of the others for me. Make sure TaeKyung doesn't let MiNam run away from him. He's like a stubborn child," I say, tears pricking my eyes at the thought of my best friend. "You have to be the hyung and make sure he takes care of MiNam. And take care of Jeremy too. I know you will."

I reach up on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek.

"Goodbye, Kang ShinWoo."

As I turn and walk away, I feel ShinWoo grab my hand. I bite my lip. I tug at his hand, but he won't let go. I sigh. He pulls me back a bit and places something in my hand. I look at my palm.

_My star necklace._

I look back up at him. He stares at me.

"I love you, Jung Aimee."

I close my eyes. In that moment, his words were engraved into my heart forever. But still, I pull away from him. I force myself not to run. I make my way to my course with the voice of the intercom ringing in my ears.

"_All those going to America, board now._"

* * *

ShinWoo tugged off his scarf and laid it on the back of his chair. He fixed his hair in the mirror, not exactly in the mood for a concert. Knowing that MiNyu would be there made him smile a bit more though. Of course, he still loved MiNyu. He would always love her. But he loved Aimee as well. She was the one on his mind; the one he missed and cherished. He couldn't believe she'd left him.

TaeKyung entered suddenly and caught ShinWoo's attention.

"She's coming, isn't she?" he asked, referring to MiNyu.

"Don't you start at it too," TaeKyung groaned and fell back into a chair. ShinWoo turned to look at him. TaeKyung wasn't getting away with not answering him. ShinWoo was tired of his spoiled brat behavior since MiNyu disappeared.

"That day, you took her home saying it was Go MiNam," ShinWoo said to him, recalling the other night when MiNyu suddenly showed up dressed as MiNam once again. ShinWoo had recognized her once away, along with TaeKyung.

"It was MiNyu, wasn't it?" ShinWoo demanded from TaeKyung.

"Yes, it was her," TaeKyung replied simply, not even looking at ShinWoo. "There was a situation that came up so she had to become her brother again. Then, she left."

ShinWoo took a step towards him. He remembered his promise to Aimee.

_Make sure TaeKyung doesn't let MiNam run away from him._

"You just let her leave?" ShinWoo glared at TaeKyung. He really _was_ a child.

"Yeah," TaeKyung replied casually, as if it was nothing. But ShinWoo heard the slight crack in his voice. "She said it was too hard being close to me. So I let her go."

ShinWoo snapped.

"That's not letting her go! It's shoving her away!" ShinWoo screamed at him. "Only someone who held on until the very end can say they let that someone go!"

He remembered Aimee's words.

_You can't claim to love her until you try to hold onto her as long as you can._

"Did you ever try to hold onto her?" ShinWoo asked harshly. "When you saw me and her in Japan, that was me trying to hold onto her until the bitter end. I finally let her go. To you, it might seem humiliating and funny, but because I went as far as I could, I can let her go and I can claim to have loved her."

TaeKyung slowly turned to look up at ShinWoo.

"But you never did that for her, did you?" ShinWoo continued. "You just stayed where you were and didn't even chase after her as she ran away in pain. That's right. Just protect your own pride and just stand there as she runs away. Aimee left, telling me to make sure you never gave up trying to hold onto her. I promised Aimee, and I wouldn't ever let you throw MiNyu away, but it doesn't seem you'll do anything until you come to your own senses. I'm sorry for your loss, prideful Hwang TaeKyung."

ShinWoo didn't wait for him to reply. He simply turned, and walked away.

_Damn that asshole._

* * *

MiNyu stood in the audience of about 15,000 fans. She stared at the stage, clutching her plane ticket tightly in her hand. Suddenly, she saw TaeKyung come out onto the stage, looking handsome with his hair pulled back and wearing a dark suit. She smiled a little as her heart fluttered.

_At least she got to see him._

Fans screamed and shouted all around her. She smiled. TaeKyung really was loved. All of the boys were. How unfortunate that they all had to love _her_. Then, she remembered. Aimee. Her sunbae. She smiled, and nodded slowly. Aimee was loved by ShinWoo. MiNyu was glad. She had found out as she'd called after Aimee left Japan. She summed everything up for MiNyu. MiNyu was glad to know ShinWoo had the heart to love someone who deserved him.

Suddenly, she heard the music start. She recognized the melody immediately. _What Do I Do?_ She stared at TaeKyung, waiting for him to sing. He seemed to hesitate, looking in the crowd. Was he looking for her? He would never see her in the crowd. No…

"For every step I send you away, tears flow…" TaeKyung sings now, his voice smooth. MiNyu's heart clenches.

"You're going to a place where I won't be able to reach you even if I spread out my arms…"

MiNyu's heart was hammering now. Tears stung in her eyes and she scolded herself for being weak for the millionth time. She was glad she could at least see him like this. She would leave, knowing he was an honest and kind man. A man she loved…

"What do I do? What do I do? You're running away...What do I do? What do I do? You're leaving me here all alone...I love you. I love you. Even if I call out; you won't hear me because I can only yell it into my own heart..."

"Unable to find you, I simply stand here along; crying…What do I do? What do I do? You're the only one for me. What can I do? What can I do? You're going away. I love you. I love you…"

MiNyu watches at the sight of TaeKyung's song, full of emotion. _This is the image I want of him. I'll take it with me, far away, and I will treasure it always._ MiNyu turned to leave.

"You're listening, aren't you?"

MiNyu froze as she heard TaeKyung speak into the microphone.

"I can't see you because it's too bright where I am and it's too dark where you are," he continued. "I told you not to be where I can't see you. Come to where I can see you. Give me permission to see you."

Slowly, MiNyu turned around. The tears ran freely down her face. The fans screamed crazily for TaeKyung. MiNyu wanted to go to him now; take him into her arms. But her legs wouldn't move. She willed herself not to go back. She had to leave. She would leave…

The floor lights flashed bright. MiNyu's eyes flared a moment. Then, they adjusted. Someone had turned on the floor lights. So TaeKyung could see. MiNyu still couldn't move. She should run now, before anyone saw her, but she couldn't move.

She looked up at the stage. It seemed TaeKyung was looking right at her. Then, she realized, he was. Their eyes locked. MiNyu felt the tears full on as she stared at TaeKyung. He moved off the stage and down the stairs. He came straight towards MiNyu.

In a moment, he stood before her. Only a few feet away. His teeth were gritted, his eyes teary. Then, without warning, he wrapped his arms around MiNyu. She hugged him back, her tears staining his jacket.

"I love you," TaeKyung said suddenly. MiNyu closed her eyes and smiled, crying more happy tears. She'd always wanted this from him. Those words. Everything she ever wanted.

_I love you._

* * *

ShinWoo sat at the kitchen counter, drinking a cup of tea. He felt himself relax. A. had a busy busy time since the real Go MiNam came back. They'd all just received a week off of activities, and ShinWoo was thankful. He ran his fingers over the soft rhino bone bracelet around his wrist. He smiled a little, thinking about Aimee again.

Suddenly, MiNam burst into the room. Jeremy, who was playing with some fruit, looked up. TaeKyung, who sat at the table drinking water and glaring, didn't care.

"MiNyu is coming back from Africa today!" MiNam screamed. His lip ring winked in the light. ShinWoo smiled a little. It'd be good to see MiNyu again. It'd been nearly two years since she left for Africa. Jeremy shouted out in happiness and ran zig-zags along the kitchen. ShinWoo looked at TaeKyung. The noticeable and rare grin on TaeKyung's face showed his own happiness.

"Really?" he asked, turning around. ShinWoo noticed how his grin faded, but he was still smiling.

"Of course," MiNam scoffed. "She's going to arrive in about an hour. Just called me."

"Yes! Let's go!" Jeremy pumped his fist into the air. "We should throw a party, with confetti and and and and…"

"She also says she's got a big surprise for us," MiNam smirked. "Don't know what exactly. She said you guys will all be thrilled."

"Well, let's go then," TaeKyung stood up and immediately grabbed his coat. ShinWoo sighed, shaking his head at them all. But he stood to go anyways. He was curious as to what the surprise could possibly be.

They arrived at the airport a bit late, since Jeremy simply _insisted_ on buying supplies for a party. ShinWoo noted how happy the mood was. TaeKyung especially, was grinning like a little boy. He was hiding it well, but ShinWoo saw it. It made him smile too. Jeremy was more energetic than ever, and MiNam was equally smirking. It seemed that a guy like MiNam didn't smile much, just smirked or grinned.

ShinWoo laughed to himself.

They spotted MiNam standing aside in the lobby. Sitting atop one of her suitcases, she looked around. She caught glance of them and waved. ShinWoo noticed how long her hair had gotten in the last two years. She really looked like a girl again. Jeremy shrieked and ran towards her. He stopped halfway as he noticed the person standing beside MiNam. With her back to us, she was almost unrecognizable with long black hair.

ShinWoo pursed his lips. But even from behind…he could still tell it was her.

"Aimee noona!" Jeremy screamed and tackled Aimee down. She laughed. Jeremy then hugged MiNyu. No one else moved. TaeKyung; because he was as equally shocked to see Aimee as ShinWoo. MiNam; because he didn't know Aimee.

"Surprise!" Aimee and MiNam said together, laughing. ShinWoo blinked, still speechless. Suddenly, TaeKyung moved from beside him and went to hug the girls. MiNam hugged his sister and MiNyu introduced him to Aimee.

"This is Aimee, my sunbae," MiNyu explained. "She watched over me when I was at A.N. for you, Oppa."

"I see," MiNam smirked at Aimee. "Nice to meet you, noona. You're even prettier than my dongsaeng here."

MiNyu smacked him playfully on the shoulder as Aimee laughed. ShinWoo melted at the sound. He had almost forgotten the sound of her voice these past two years. Suddenly, everyone turned to look at ShinWoo, the only one who hadn't moved. He couldn't process anything. It felt like a dream. Unrealistic.

ShinWoo willed himself to move. Everyone was silent as he walked over to Aimee, whose smile had faded and was simply staring at him. ShinWoo pursed his lips and took another step. These two years; nothing had changed between them. He remembered her words.

_When I come back, tell me if you still love me._

Suddenly, ShinWoo reached out to grab one of her arms. He wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her into him. She stumbled into his arms and hugged him back. ShinWoo held her for a long moment, letting her presence sink into him.

She was here now. She was real.

* * *

ShinWoo held me as I held him. I thought of what I had told him before I left.

_When I come back, tell me if you still love me. I'll tell you if I still love you when I come back as well._

I wondered if this was his answer? I wasn't sure. Just then, ShinWoo pulled away from me a little. He stared down at me, smiling. I smiled back up at him. His hand went to my collarbone, where the star pendant hung. Then, I saw it. On his wrist, the rhino bone bracelet. He looked back up at me. Our eyes locked and we both smiled.

That's when I knew it. He still loved me. And I knew, he knew, I still loved him. We slowly let go of each other and looked at the others, who were all quiet. ShinWoo and I laugh and the silence breaks. MiNyu laughs and hugs ShinWoo softly.

"Now that that's done, let's party!" Jeremy shouted, wrapping an arm around me and MiNyu's shoulders.

"I see you haven't changed much, dongsaeng," I pinch his cheek. He grins.

"We might have to stop by the store again, cause I had no idea Aimee noona was going to be here!" Jeremy nodded. "More supplies needed to make a totally _awesome_ party!"

TaeKyung groaned. Everyone laughed.

_It was good to be home…_

**

* * *

**

Author's Note:

Awww. That was so cute. Everyone is happy in the end, hehe. TaeKyung got MiNyu; ShinWoo got Aimee. (well, it's happy unless you think of poor Nobu, whom I still feel like shit for abandoning, ahha.) I think I'm going to make one last chapter after this before I make my final epilogue. (BTW, you guys want Nobu to come back the last chapter/epilogue/both? Just for a brief catch-up cause we all miss him =D)

I thought about making a sequel, but I don't really know what it would be about . ShinWoo and Aimee should be pretty good by the end…ahaha. I sure hope YB comes out with a second series though! =) I loved this drama.

BTW, just a funny story I might share. My uncle was joking to his wife about how he was going to go find a cute Korean girl to make his girlfriend and she was like, 'I'll go find a cute Korean boy too then.' And everyone in my family knows I'm a K-freakk, so I showed them some stars. My auntie didn't like any of the men I showed, saying they were too pretty. Ahaha. She thought YongHwa was decent. I showed my uncle many girls, but he didn't like any of them (Han HyoJoo was not good to him; Kim So Eun was decent) But he love love loveddddd Park ShinHye! He doesn't speak English, but when he saw her, he went, 'OOOOOO. That girl is the girl for me! (in English)' It was hilarious. I laughed my ass off.

Ma auntie was like, 'You just like her cause her boobs are bigger than mine.' My uncle went, 'Even MY boobs are bigger than yours…' I was rolling! Ahhaaha. But all's good. They were just kidding =)


	39. Chapter 39

"_Party!"_

I laugh as Jeremy runs across the couch, throwing confetti everywhere. MiNyu laughs as well. Shinwoo smiles softly, while TaeKyung fakes a pout and MiNam stands smirking. He and his sister talk quietly while Jeremy blasts music and dances around. He drags me to my feet and we do a strange jiggy in the living room. Everyone laughs at this; except TaeKyung, but his adorable grin counts as a laugh, no?

'Gee' suddenly comes on. Jeremy and I glance at each other and immediately start dancing along. MiNyu joins in on Jeremy and I. After the song ended, 'Bonomana' by Super Junior comes on.

"Oh my God!" I screech. "I just learned the dance to this."

"And the song is only about a month old," TaeKyung shakes his head at me. I stick my tongue out at him. I don't dance though. How strange would it be, to be dancing something like Bonomana all alone?

"I'll teach you guys the dance once I start at work again," I laugh.

"You're coming back to A.N.?" Jeremy asked. I scoff.

"Of course," I smile. "Where else am I going to go? And anyway, you guys are going to have some competition out now. Your albums are going down!"

I give the boys a thumbs down. They all stare at me.

"What do you mean?" ShinWoo asks.

"I mean," I smile. "Jung Aimee is back in the singing business!"

"Since when?" TaeKyung breaks into a grin, despite his false moodiness all night long.

"I sang for President Ahn and the producer a long time ago, but I left for America so we never did the contract. I called him about a week before coming back and we'll be meeting tomorrow," I explain.

"You should sing a song for us!" Jeremy suddenly said.

"Oh, yes!" MiNyu nodded. "I've never heard you sing."

"Go for it, I wanna see how good you are," MiNam put a hand on my shoulder. I smirked.

"Challenging me?" I asked.

"Maybe," he teased back. I laughed.

"Maybe another time, MiNam," I smile. "I've got the perfect song for us to sing. I wrote it."

"Let's see it," TaeKyung said.

I ran to my suitcase and pulled out a stuffed folder of music sheets. I fingered through and found the sheet I needed. Then, I run to the piano room. The others followed me. I place the song on the stand and lay my fingers accordingly on the keys. I smile up at them all. I start to play.

"_Neurul Saranghae, Neurul Saranghae_," I sing along with the music. MiNyu and MiNam join in with me. Jeremy does too. I smile. The melody is upbeat and sweet.

"I'll sing this part," I add quickly and take on the first solo of the song. "Ne Ma Meul Da Hae, Nae Mo Dun Geul Jyeo Geul De Jeong Mal Saranghamnida."

"Gu De A Pum Gu De Nun Mul," ShinWoo sings the next solo part. "I Jen Nega Mo Du Ka Jyeo Gayo."

I smile and continue playing.

MiNyu takes the next solo, "Gu De Ol Geul Barabo Myeo Sesang Geun Shim Gok Jeong Sarajigeo…"

"Haru Haru," TaeKyung sings as I continue to play. "Na Him Du Reo Do Geude Gyeotei Seo Haengbokhaeyo..."

* * *

"You're easily sunburned. Put your suntan lotion on now!"

TaeKyung groaned. I shove the bottle of suntan lotion into his face. MiNam, MiNyu, and Jeremy suppress giggles as TaeKyung throws a childish fit. We were at the beach in YeoSu. Everyone was lotioned and ready to have a good time. Everyone but TaeKyung, of course.

"It feels disgusting," TaeKyung shuddered. "I can take a sunburn. Or I can just sit in the shade."

"_Now_, before I slap it on for you," I threaten him. I suppress a smirk. TaeKyung was so childish. He crossed his arms, daring me to attempt to touch him. He glared at me from behind his big sunglasses. I smirked now. I open the bottle and dump a handful of lotion on my hand. I jump at TaeKyung. He runs off, screaming.

"TaeKyung oppa!" I shout, running after him. Everyone on the beach turns to look at us. The others, including my brother Chin, burst out into laughter as they watch my pathetic attempt to catch TaeKyung.

After a good five minute chase and struggle, I managed to wipe a huge blob of lotion onto TaeKyung's back and his arms. The white blobs stuck to his skin. He frowned.

"You might as well rub it in now," I smile innocently. "It won't look as weird then."

TaeKyung gives me a sarcastic laugh. I giggle and run back to the others. Clad in our swimsuits or swim shorts, we settled out spots on the beachside. I tug at MiNyu's arm and examine her in her cute pink polka-dot ruffled one-piece. It fit her so well I had to giggle. She blushed.

"Don't stare, sunbae," she says shyly. I smile.

"You have cute curves, MiNyu," I slap her thigh. She blushes more.

"I like your swimsuit," she comments, tilting her head at me. I smooth over my brown, gold and sea-green striped bikini with gold clasps.

"You can borrow sometime," I tease, knowing she didn't have the confidence to accept wearing such a conspicuous piece. She smiled a little, but didn't reply. She tugged at my arm and pulled me towards the water.

"Oh, wait!" I cry out and run to my bag. "I should get a picture of everyone before they get wet! We won't look as gross then."

"Good idea," MiNyu says and runs to get her own camera.

"Picture everyone!" I shout. TaeKyung groans, finally done rubbing in his suntan lotion. I laugh and grab ShinWoo, dragging him over to the spot to take pictures. I can't help but grin at him in his black and white swirled swim shorts. He had on a white beater.

"How's my hair?" Jeremy smoothed over his long blonde hair with his fingers. I reach up and fix the fly aways for him. Then, I shoot him a corny thumbs-up. He grins. We both laugh. I smack his abs.

"Why do you have _hot pink_ swim shorts, Jeremy?" I ask. "With yellow bunnies on them?"

"It's cute, don't you think?" Jeremy grins proudly. I laugh.

Chin comes up behind me and brushes sand out of my hair. I smile at him. Halmoni didn't come, claiming she'd just get jealous watching all the young girls in their bikinis and the young men and their bodies. We had all laughed.

"So you and him are together now?" Chin asked me quietly, tugging at his slightly too-short silver and blue swim trunks. I smile. Chin gestured to ShinWoo.

"Yeah," I say. He smiles back at me.

"Just glad to know you're happy," he puts an arm around my shoulder.

"Okay, set!" MiNyu presses the button on both our cameras and runs to us. She stands in between her brother and TaeKyung. I stand in between my brother and ShinWoo. Jeremy stands between ShinWoo and TaeKyung. We all smile and pose as the timer clicks on our cameras.

_Snap!_

I run to my camera to look at the picture. I smile. ShinWoo comes up behind me. He puts an arm on my shoulder and looks at the camera screen.

"Picture perfect," he says, smiling. I smile and lift the camera up. We both look up and smile. He holds his face close to mine. I snap the picture. I press the playback button.

"Now _that_ is a picture perfect picture," I tell him. He smiles at the sight of the picture. Our smiling faces; peaceful and content. Real happiness. The kind neither of us had felt for a while now. But that's okay. We'd found it with each other.

I turned to him and pressed my lips to his. He placed a hand on the back of my neck, pulling me closer. We kissed a moment. I let the sweet taste of him linger on my lips. Then, we pulled away. I broke into a childish grin and kicked sand at him. He smiled and picked up a handful, chucking it my way.

"Oh my god!" I shout, laughing. He picks me up, swings me around and then runs to the water. I grip tightly to him, not wanting to fall in the icy water. We laugh. I look at the others. MiNyu and TaeKyung stand along the beach silently but smiling. MiNam and Jeremy stand aside, building separate sand castles and shouting at each other over whose is better.

I look back up at ShinWoo. He smiles, noticing the others as well.

"Everybody got their happy ending," I mutter to him. He smiles. I close my eyes and press my forehead to his. He does the same.

"Not everyone."

I open my eyes and look at him, ready to ask who he means, when he suddenly drops me into the icy water. I let out a shrill scream as I hit the shallow water. I come back up, shivering. ShinWoo stands over me, grinning.

"You're so dead!" I shout and stand, chasing him.

_A blissful, happy end. For everyone._

**

* * *

**

Author's Note:

Omg. How tacky am I? ahaha. –sigh- this would be so much cuter if you saw it like a movie. It's easier to picture. I hope you guys are seeing it as cutely as I am, hehe. Yeah yeah yeah, I know, Nobu didn't get a happy ending XD It's okay!

I have decided that instead of doing an epilogue, I will do a short sequel to ShinWoo and Aimee's relationship. Nobu might come back too. Hehe. And maybe, if I'm not too lazy, I'll develop Jeremy and MiNam's characters too =D How does that sound, you guys? The sequel might not be longer than maybe 20 chapters at MOST. So don't expect too much. Thank you guys so much for reading! I hope my sequel is AWESOME like my fanfic too! I love you reviewers~ You all make my days of writing worthwhile, hehe.

BTW, this is the song Aimee and the others were singing in the piano room-http[colon]/www[dot]youtube[dot]com/watch?v=xrnZqBtAF60  
(I wrote the Korean lyrics cause I can't find English translations ANYWHERE, but it's a really cute song!)

**OMFG BTW!** You guys know Bollywood movies? They are AWESOME. I just remembered my past love for them, ehehe. Anyone know where I can watch them with eng subs? Mohabbatein, especially, is one of my faves –sigh-


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